Smallville Spider Man 5: Infinite
by Russkafin
Summary: Darkseid, En Sabah Nur, and the Anti-Life Equation on one side. Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul, and a Secret Society of Villains attempting to assemble the Infinity Gems on the other. The united heroes of the newly formed Justice League Avengers, caught in the middle. Who, if anyone, will survive this ultimate war for the fate of all reality?
1. Chapter 1

SMALLVILLE/SPIDER-MAN 5: INFINITE

CHAPTER ONE

The bright July sunshine was beaming down from above as Clark Kent and Peter Parker strolled out of the Metro Diner and into the busy, bustling streets of Metropolis.

"Those were, without a doubt, the greatest pancakes I have ever had," Peter said, one hand on his stomach. Then, after a pause, he quickly added, "Never tell Aunt May that I said that."

"I'm telling you man, the Metro Diner is the best breakfast around," Clark replied. He pushed his glasses farther up his nose with his index finger. It was a nervous habit he'd artificially created for his Mild Mannered Reporter persona, but it had become so natural that he did it subconsciously whenever he was wearing that guise. "Next time you have to try the home fries."

"I'm not going to fit into my tights much longer if I keep coming here," Peter said. "These visits to Metropolis every now and then are fun, but some of us don't get their physique from a yellow sun, my friend!"

"You guys went to breakfast and you didn't invite me?" The voice came from tiny transceivers that Clark and Peter wore in their ears. Clark's was specially calibrated so that the sound was so infinitesimally quiet it only registered with his super-hearing. Clark and Peter both rolled their eyes at the same time.

Peter very casually raised his forearm to his mouth, pretending to scratch an itch on the side of his face. "Do you eavesdrop on everyone all the time, or was it just our turn, Stark?" he said toward his wrist.

"Actually, boys, it just so happens I was up here at the JLA Satellite helping J'onn calibrate the new supercomputers that Stark International was kind enough to donate," Tony replied via their earpieces. "We got a ping on the Troublert monitor, and I ran a query to see who was in the area, and happened to catch you two finishing up your breakfast bro date."

"First, are we really calling it the 'Troublert'?" Clark asked, speaking into his forearm as well, as casually as he possibly could.

"You pay for the next cool gadget and I'll let you name it, CK," Stark fired back. "It detects trouble, and alerts you to it. I thought it was clever."

"Okay, okay," Clark replied. "So, what's the situation?"

"First National Bank of Metropolis. It's about twelve blocks away."

"Someone robbing it?" Peter asked.

"Not yet, but the security cameras just picked up a very suspicious couple walking in the front door," Stark explained. "Flint Marko, alias the Sandman; I believe he's one of yours, Mister Parker? And Selina Kyle, alias Catwoman. Usually travels in Batman's social circle."

"Sandman and Catwoman?" Peter raised an eyebrow. "How'd those two get hooked up? A litterbox fetish dating service?"

Clark shot Peter a disgusted look. Then, to Stark he said, "I take it the bank employees don't realize who just strolled in?"

"Negative," Stark replied. "And, as a matter of fact, about ten seconds after they walked in, the security camera footage went into a loop and all the alarms were remotely disabled. Which means, A. They have some tech-savvy outside help, and B. I don't think they're there to apply for a mortgage."

"We'll check it out," Clark said.

Clark and Peter continued walking down the sidewalk. Without another word, Peter casually ducked down the nearest alleyway, and, as soon as he was out of sight, pulled his sweater up over his head, revealing a red and blue costume with a big black spider emblem on the front. Clark, similarly, stepped nonchalantly into a phone booth, shut the door behind him, and ripped open his shirt exposing the word famous "S" shield that had become an inspiration to so many.

Twelve blocks away at the First National Bank of Metropolis, a bank manager with graying hair and a mustache walked up to the couple who had just entered. "May I help you?" he asked.

Flint Marko was dressed in a very sharp three-piece suit and carrying an attaché case. Selina Kyle clung decoratively to his arm, wearing a little black dress and holding a tiny clutch-purse. Her brown hair was in an up-do, allowing a clear display of the extravagant diamond necklace she wore around her neck.

"Yes, you may," Marko replied. "I would like to see your safety deposit boxes, please. My wife needs a secure place to keep her jewelry. I trust that you have top of the line security here?" Selina absently played with the diamonds around her neck, and Marko raised the attaché case slightly in the manager's direction, implying that it contained more of the same.

"Of course, of course," the manager said, practically tripping over himself in his eagerness to assist this couple. "If you would follow me I'd be happy to show you what we have in the way of safety deposit boxes, sir."

Selina slowly untwined herself from Marko's arm. "I'll be along in a minute, darling," she said. "I'm going to go powder my nose." Then, to the bank manager, "Where might the little girl's room be?"

The manager politely pointed out the location of the facilities, and Miss Kyle excused herself.

Once she was inside the women's restroom, Selina opened the clutch purse and took out a compact. She held it up at eye level and carefully opened it. What appeared to be a tiny insect flew out of the compact and buzzed around her head for a moment. Without batting an eye she admired herself in the compact mirror for a brief moment before promptly snapping it shut again.

Suddenly, the tiny insect enlarged to a six-foot tall man wearing a suit of black and yellow armor. The man began coughing and dry-heaving forcefully, leaning forward and holding his stomach.

"Lynns! Are you fucking kidding me?" Selina snapped. "I don't know how it is that our mysterious benefactor was able to secure the very last Yellowjacket model suit in existence, or why he entrusted it to a flame-obsessed sociopath like you, but I do know that restoring yourself to full size in the women's restroom is the stupidest thing you could do right now."

"Blow me, Selina," the man in the Yellowjacket suit spat. "I just spent an hour and a half inside your goddamn compact. I'm hyper-fucking-ventilating."

"Shrink back down NOW before someone walks in here, you moron!" she hissed.

"You always this much of a bitch?"

"No, believe it or not, you're still on my fucking good side."

Lynns raised a clenched fist at Selina. A metallic cylinder extended out from his wrist, the one major modification made to the prototype Yellowjacket suit from its original design. A foot-long red-hot arc of flame shot out of the end of the barrel; essentially an onboard acetylene torch. The flame came inches from Selina's face. She did not flinch.

"Careful, Selina," Lynns said, menacingly. "You play with fire, you're likely to get burned."

She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. "And you mess with the kitten, you'll get the claws. Are we going to trade clichés all day or are you going to get to work?"

Lynns just stood silently for a very long moment, letting the sparks from the torch shower down around Selina's face, illuminating her features in a glimmer of red and orange. Then, finally, abruptly, he shut off the torch, grunted, and shrunk back down to insect size. He took off into the air and buzzed around the room a few times. Then, still annoyed, Selina punched the automatic door button with the side of her fist, prompting the bathroom door to slowly swing open.

The bug-sized Lynns flew out the door, darting up and down and left and right as he swooped over and around the heads of the bank customers. Anyone who paid any notice to his presence assumed a fly had gotten into the building and made an absent-minded swat in his general direction at most. He flew behind the row of bank tellers who were patiently assisting their customers, around a corner, straight past the right ear of the gray-haired bank manager and directly into the vault.

The manager stuck his index finger in his ear for a moment and swished it around, momentarily distracted by the brief buzzing sound he had just heard. But then, just as quickly, he shrugged it off and returned his attention to the man with the attaché case. He made a grand gesture toward the rows upon rows of safety deposit boxes.

"What size box did you have in mind?" he asked. "We have several different sizes to accommodate any valuables you may wish to store."

Before Marko could answer, there was a quiet "thwip" sound from somewhere over his shoulder. Then, he felt the briefcase rip quickly from his fingers and shoot off behind him. Flint closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He didn't even have to turn around to know what had just happened.

"Sandman!" a familiar voice called out behind him, with a touch of joy as if running into an old friend. The attaché case sailed through the air on a webline, then landed carefully in the hands of Spider-Man himself. Spidey began nonchalantly whistling the tune "Mister Sandman." Spider-Man made a close inspection of the case. He stopped whistling. "Samsonite!" he exclaimed. "Boy, I was way off!"

"What is the meaning of this?!" the manager demanded.

With a flick of his wrist, Spider-Man whipped the attaché case against the wall. The locks on the case broke, and it clattered to the ground, spilling out its contents: a small plastic device that looked not unlike a fishing bobber. It was a bright neon green and orange. At the top, it had a small antenna with a blinking red diode on the end.

"Call me crazy, but I think that will fit into one of the small boxes just fine," Spider-Man said, sarcastically. He crouched down and examined the small device, turning it over slowly in his hand. "Transceiver," he observed. "Emitting an override signal that's allowing someone to patch into the security cameras and alarm system. Explains why it didn't kick in until you walked through the door… it had to be in close enough range. Pretty high tech device, considering it looks like it was made by Fisher Price."

On his right forearm, Spider-Man wore a silver metal armband that extended from his wrist to his elbow. It bore the JLA insignia – Justice League Avengers. It also allowed communication with the JLA Satellite. Spider-Man held the transceiver near his armband for a moment, certain that Tony would be able to perform a quick remote scan of the device.

"Who are you working with, Sandy?" Spider-Man asked.

But Flint Marko wasn't responding. Instead, his fists and teeth still firmly clenched, he was changing form. His flesh was transmuting right before their very eyes as his body dissolved into living sand. Sand that began to quietly swirl around him, kicking up simple dust clouds at first, and then gradually picking up speed and force as more and more of his body transformed. Within a matter of a few short moments, Flint Marko had become a living sandstorm, a whirlwind of sentient sand that spilled out of the room and began whipping violently around the whole bank. The bank patrons screamed and covered their eyes, ducking for cover.

No sooner had this sandstorm reached full force than another whoosh of air burst into the bank; a red-and-blue blur that began streaking around the room in the opposite direction, trying to counter the gale force winds of sand.

Slowly, ever so slowly, this new counter-wind began to reign in the sandstorm, sucking it gradually toward the center of the room instead of allowing it to rage free across the entire bank. Papers and pens flew off of desks and got caught up in the wild updraft of this sand tornado.

Spider-Man glared across the bank, the lenses of his mask protecting his eyes from the sandstorm. There, on the other side of the room, he spied what he was looking for. Though it was hard to see through the windstorm, he managed to make out the red outline of the emergency fire alarm. He aimed carefully, steadied his hand, and then, as he had done so many times before, expertly pressed his middle and ring finger into the center of his palm, triggering a burst of webbing. His web struck its target, and, with a quick jerk, he pulled the handle on the alarm.

The sprinklers overhead released a torrent of water, showering down all over the bank. The entire sandstorm seemed to shudder. The tornado of sand quickly retreated into itself, and the red and blue blur came to a sudden stop as well.

As the wind subsided, Superman now stood in the center of the bank, wearing his classic red and blue costume, and also sporting a silver JLA armband. Objects that had been blown off of bank tellers' desks came clattering to the ground all around him. The sand, now saturated with water from the sprinklers, fell to the ground as huge clumps of mud. There was an audible groan as the mud slunked and slithered across the room, slowly and disgustingly pulling itself back into the form of a man. Flint Marko now appeared weak and bloated, unable to pull himself up from his knees. His sand form had taken on so much water, that even now that he had re-assembled himself and become human again, his insides felt like they had turned to mud as well.

"How did I get here before you?" Spider-Man asked, nodding to Superman. "You're the one with super speed, not me."

"Sorry," Superman shrugged. "I stopped to help an old lady across the street."

Spider-Man laughed. "Ha! Good one," he said, shutting off the fire alarm and allowing the torrential downpour from the sprinklers to stop. "You almost said that like you were… oh. You're serious, aren't you?"

Just then the door to the women's restroom was kicked open. Selina Kyle exited, her arm around the neck of some poor young woman who had ducked into the bathroom seeking refuge from the sandstorm a few minutes earlier. Selina held a sharp, jagged piece of glass from the restroom mirror, which she had pressed against the throat of the young girl. There was sheer terror in the girl's eyes. She wanted to scream for help, but she dare not make a sound, lest the pointed shard of glass press any further into the soft flesh of her throat.

Superman and Spider-Man stood perfectly still.

"Miss Kyle…" Superman said, slowly. "I don't think you want to do this."

Selina laughed, throwing her head back as she did. The young woman winced and whimpered as Selina's hand shook ever so slightly.

"And what makes you say that?" Selina asked.

"I've read about you. The Catwoman of Gotham City," Superman said, calmly. "You've got a pretty long rap sheet, but it doesn't include murder. I don't believe you've ever killed anyone before. And, I don't think you want to start now, over a botched bank robbery."

Selina cocked her head to the side, thoughtfully. "No," she admitted. "No, I really don't."

There was a long beat of silence. No one in the entire bank dared to move, scarcely even dared to breathe.

"Then… why don't you drop that piece of glass, and let the woman go?" Superman asked.

"Because," Selina said with a slight shrug. "I'm stalling for time."

Just then there was a deafening KRASHOOOM as, behind Selina, the entire bank vault lifted up out of its moorings and crashed upward through the ceiling of the bank. Left behind in the footprint of the vault was a ring of tiny, smoldering flames, where the base of the vault had been burned away by a microscopic blowtorch.

Everyone stared in shock as they watched the huge vault lift upward into the sky. Through the gaping hole in the ceiling they saw a helicopter soaring high above the bank. Perched on one of the skids was a man with black hair. His hands were outstretched, a look of strained determination on his face as he forcibly levitated the metal vault through sheer force of will.

"Who's the Low-Rent Magneto?" Spider-Man asked, a hand across his brow shading the midday sun as he looked up.

"He's one of mine," Superman replied. "Name's Seth Nelson. We actually went to high school together. His powers have definitely increased since then."

"Small world," Spider-Man replied. "How about I take your high school buddy, and you catch that vault when it comes crashing down?"

Superman nodded. Without another word, he took off skyward.

Spider-Man leapt toward the hole in the ceiling, firing off a webline as he did.

Selina dropped the shard of glass and released her choke-hold on the woman's neck. She gently patted the terrified young lady on the shoulder. "Sorry, sweetie. Wrong place, wrong time." The young woman ran away from Selina as quickly as she could.

Selina started making a beeline for the front door. Then, almost as an afterthought, a quick burst of webbing fired down from above and splotched around her left foot, anchoring her in place. "Oh, come on!" she muttered, trying in vain to pull her foot free.

High above the city, feet firmly planted on one of the helicopter's skids, Seth Nelson's face was contorted with strained concentration. Although he'd honed his powers significantly since the days of stealing chump change from cash registers at places like the Talon, attempting to levitate a bank vault full of cash was definitely testing the limits of his abilities.

He was so focused that he barely noticed the quiet thwip of a webline hitting the helicopter door just behind him. A few seconds later, an acrobatic man in red and blue spandex swung up from somewhere below and perched himself carefully on the skid right beside Seth.

"Hi," Spider-Man said, with a slight wave.

"What the-?!" Seth, startled, lost his composure for just a fraction of a second. The vault, which was already nearly 500 feet in the air, made a sharp drop. Superman swooped up beneath the vault and caught it, stopping its sudden descent abruptly. A few hundred dollars' worth of bills spilled out of the vault and floated down to the streets below like autumn leaves. Superman hovered in midair, hands planted firmly shoulder length apart holding the massive vault above his head.

Seth, regaining his composure, began to levitate the vault again. It lurched skyward, dragging Superman upward with it. He dug his fingers into the vault, trying to pull it back down to earth, but the vault was so huge, and being in midair with nothing to leverage against, he found it extremely difficult to yank it free from the invisible magnetic force that was pulling it skyward.

"Sorry, didn't mean to break your concentration there," Spider-Man said to Seth. "Say, you wouldn't mind just setting that vault gently back down where it goes, would you?"

Seth didn't reply, instead putting all of his focus into trying to keep the vault aloft.

"Didn't think so," Spider-Man continued. "Say, who's flying this bird, anyway?"

He grabbed the helicopter door and slid it open, leaning in and glancing into the cockpit. There was no pilot. Instead, Spider-Man was surprised to find a Speak & Spell with wires protruding from it, hooked up to the main console. Numbers representing latitude and longitude quickly flashed on the screen every few seconds.

He climbed the rest of the way into the helicopter cockpit for a closer look. "Who jailbreaks a Speak & Spell?" he said to himself. Once again, he held up his wristband toward this odd sight, hoping that Stark was monitoring what was going on and could provide some insight.

Just then his spider sense began to tingle. He looked around. If being on the side of a helicopter with magnetically-powered supervillain hadn't triggered it in the first place, why was it going off now? He didn't notice anything, other than a tiny bug that was buzzing around his head. Certainly a fly or mosquito wouldn't be enough to set off his internal warning sense?

It wasn't a fly or mosquito. Without warning the "insect" changed size, growing to six feet tall in an instant.

"You should've stayed out of this, Spider-Man!" the man in the black and yellow armor roared.

"Where did you come from?!" Spider-Man gasped.

Garfield Lynns, the man in the Yellowjacket suit, responded by igniting the blowtorches on his wrists. Now both forearms were spouting arcs of red-hot flame. He swung a fist at Spider-Man, a trail of fire following behind the haymaker. Spidey ducked in time to avoid the fist and the flame. Lynns swung a second time, and Spider-Man once again deftly dodged the blow.

"Lynns, are you nuts?!" Seth called from just outside on the skid. "You're going to tear this chopper apart!"

"He's got a point, Sparky," Spider-Man said.

"Shut up!" Lynns yelled. He thrust his fist at Spider-Man, who leapt up and clung to the ceiling of the helicopter. A shower of sparks rained down on the control console, just missing the jury-rigged Speak & Spell that was navigating the 'copter. Lynns swung both fists upward and criss-crossed them, trying to shiskabob the web-slinger. Spider-Man dropped back down from the ceiling, falling perfectly between the two intersecting arcs of flame, and landing at Lynns's feet. He delivered a punch to Lynns' stomach, knocking him off balance. He stood up and followed with two more quick punches to the head. Lynns raised his arm again and then swung it downward, as if trying to cut Spider-Man in two. He missed Spider-Man, but sliced open part of the console. Sparks flew everywhere.

"Lynns!" Seth yelled. "Knock it off!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Lynns was sounding more and more unhinged. The possibility of their big payday being botched was sending him over the edge. Everything had been planned so carefully, executed so precisely, and now they were on the verge of losing everything. He was freaking out.

Lynns increased the power of his wrist-torches. Now instead of foot-long flames, they were closer to two feet. He began swinging wildly at Spider-Man, who dodged every blow with acrobatic precision, but there wasn't much room to maneuver inside the helicopter. Lynns started taking chunks out of the ceiling and floor as his manic motions were sending sparks and flames everywhere.

"That's enough!" Seth yelled. He spun toward the cockpit and reached out one hand, refocusing his magnetic powers to freeze Lynns in place by immobilizing his metal suit like a statue. This change in focus caused him to completely lose his mental magnetic grip on the vault, which once again plummeted about a dozen stories downward. Superman, startled by the quick change in direction, took a few seconds to bring it to a slow stop. Again, loose change and dollar bills spilled out of the safe and headed for the streets below, where onlookers began racing around to scoop it up.

"What are you doing, you little shit?" Lynns roared at Seth.

"You need to calm down!" Seth snapped. "You're going to get us all killed!"

"I kind of have to agree with Magneto Lite," Spider-Man chimed in. "This isn't really the best scenario for anyone right now. What if we just—"

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

"A lot of people tell me that," Spidey replied.

"I swear to God, if you cost us this job…" Lynns snarled at Seth.

Seth gritted his teeth. Then, he attempted something he had never attempted before. Keeping his right hand outstretched toward Lynns, he very slowly turned his gaze back down toward the vault below. Cautiously, he began reaching his left hand out in the direction of the vault. He gradually stretched out his fingers, squinting his eyes with intense focus.

Down below, Superman was slowly, steadily floating back down toward the bank with the vault suspended above his head. Suddenly, there was another violent jerk upward as the entire vault was nearly yanked from his grip. He dug his fingers further into the metal to steady it.

Seth's hands were trembling. He had never had to split his focus like this before. Creating two separate magnetic fields, one to immobilize the crazed Garfield Lynns, and the other to try to levitate a massive bank vault, was almost more mental strain than he could bear.

Suddenly there was a low, metallic creaking sound that made all of their stomachs sink. The helicopter began titling ever so slightly to the left.

"Um. What's happening?" Spider-Man asked.

Then there was a clanking sound from the cockpit. Spider-Man spun around and ducked inside it. The control panel was still smoking from the damage it took from Lynns' blowtorch, and now everything had begun shaking so much that screws and bolts were starting to jostle themselves loose. The Speak & Spell was no longer spitting out coordinates. Instead, it simply read "ERROR."

"That can't be good," Spider-Man sighed.

The helicopter continued to tilt further and further to one side, so much so that Spider-Man now had to brace one hand against the wall to keep his balance. He slowly made his way back to the door and poked his head out.

"Seth!" he called, reaching a hand out. "You've got to stop this! The opposing magnetic fields you're creating are going to tip this chopper right over!"

Seth wasn't listening. He leaned out farther, as if he could somehow grab the vault and physically pull it to himself. He was leaning out so far that it looked as if he would fall off the skid at any moment. The helicopter continued to tilt to one side, the magnetic field that Seth was creating to levitate the vault actually now tipping the helicopter toward it.

What no one had noticed was that the helicopter had been drifting closer and closer to a nearby skyscraper. The rotors tore into the face of the building, shattering windows and sending shards of glass and metal everywhere. With the rotors now damaged and the controls effectively useless, the helicopter began to plummet straight down, still taking huge chunks out of the building as it went.

Seth now completely released his magnetic hold on both the vault and Garfield Lynns, instead now instinctively using his powers to cling himself to the helicopter as it plunged.

Spider-Man braced one foot against each side of the inside of the door, then fired a webline from each wrist in different directions. The twin weblines found their marks on a couple of nearby buildings, and quickly went taut. Spider-Man braced himself as forcefully as he could, trying to stop the helicopter's rapid decent. His legs felt like they were about to break under the tremendous weight. The copter slammed into the side of the building again and again, its decent now slowed by the weblines, but not stopping. The webs stretched and stretched until finally they snapped, and the helicopter began hurtling once again toward the ground below.

With only seconds left to change his strategy, Spider-Man leapt out the helicopter door and grabbed onto one of the skids. He pointed his wrist downward and began spraying out the widest, thickest stream of webbing that he could. He swung his arm frantically back and forth, creating a makeshift net of webbing several stories below them. He prayed it would be strong enough to cushion their fall.

There was a whoosh and a blur of red and blue, and, just as suddenly as their descent had begun, it was over. Superman had caught the helicopter, and then, ever so carefully, brought it down to rest on the web net that Spider-Man had made.

Spider-Man stumbled out of the helicopter, rolled off of the web net and fell dramatically to the ground. Seth was still physically clinging to the side of the helicopter, his eyes wide with shock and fear. Lynns was nowhere to be seen.

"Wasn't there one more guy?" Superman asked, hovering in the air with his arms crossed.

"Oh," Spider-Man said, gasping for breath as he lay on the street. "He can change size, I guess."

"Ah." Superman squinted his eyes a bit as he used his super vision powers to scan the area. Then, after a moment, he went into a quick burst of speed, and plucked something from the air. "Got him," he said, delicately holding the tiny version of Garfield Lynns between his thumb and index finger.

A few minutes later, after Spider-Man had managed to catch his breath, he walked back into the First National Bank. He burst out laughing when he saw the state that Superman had left the vault in when he returned it. In his haste to go catch the falling helicopter, Superman had awkwardly jammed the vault back into its frame off-center and at an odd angle, so that it didn't quite fit properly back into the footprint of where it had originally been.

Superman walked in behind Spider-Man, bringing with him a now fully-sized Yellowjacket and a still shell-shocked Seth, both of whom had their hands webbed behind their backs. Superman looked at the vault too, and shrugged. "Hey, I didn't want to keep you waiting again," he said to Spider-Man.

"I appreciate it, buddy," Spider-Man replied.

What no one noticed was, now that Flint Marko had pulled himself together, he sat in a corner near the safety deposit boxes and enacted a backup plan that had been instructed to him by their mysterious benefactor as a failsafe in case they were caught. He quietly transformed his hand once again into living sand, and then reached for box 451. His hand, and, in fact, entire left arm quickly became a torrent of sand, blasting its way into the keyholes of that particular box. He continued to blast the small box with as much sand as he could pour into it, until it eventually started to expand. The sides of the box started to swell and pop, the sheer volume of sand being suddenly jam-packed into it becoming more than it could hold. After only a few seconds of this, the front of the box burst open, causing its contents to spill out onto the floor. Its contents, quite simply, besides a large volume of sand, happened to be one green glowing meteor fragment.

Flint Marko drew the sandpile from the floor back into himself and allowed it to once again become his left arm. Then, he grabbed the hunk of kryptonite and stood up.

He looked toward the row of tellers. There, standing near the front was the man he had been instructed to look for if things went south. A large, muscular bald man wearing a gray trench coat. The man nodded to him. This was it.

Without so much as a word, Flint tossed the green meteor rock to the man in the trench coat. The man smiled as the rock sailed toward him. He reached out and caught it with one hand. He gasped with surprise the moment it touched his skin. He had never felt anything quite like this before. The hand that held the kryptonite turned green first. Then, the green color, and crystal-like texture, began to spread down his arm, across his torso, down his chest… soon, his entire body had transformed, and he became a living man of kryptonite.

People who were near the man began to scream and back away from him. This finally caught Superman and Spider-Man's attention.

"That's-! That's-!" Spider-Man stammered, pointing.

"The name's Carl Creel," he said. "You can call me the Absorbing Man." He ripped off his trench coat and threw it to the ground, just to further show off his new green physique. "Or, maybe, you should call me Kryptonite Man! What do you think, Supes?"

Superman couldn't even speak. The painful, physical reaction when he was around kryptonite was so intense that it actually made his throat start to swell shut. He backed away from Creel slowly, eyes wide, as his own skin became flushed. The veins on his hands began to swell and turn green. He stumbled as he backed away from Creel.

"Here's how this is gonna work," Creel continued, green radiation steaming from his skin as he walked slowly closer to Superman. "You're gonna let me and my pals here walk away. No questions asked. Sandman. Catwoman. Yellowjacket. Magnetic Boy or whatever the fuck his name is. And me. We get to stroll out that fucking door, right now, and you don't say shit about it. Or, I'll fucking kill you. What do you say to that, Superman? Huh?" Creel spit at Superman's feet. Even his spit was green and glowing.

Spider-Man stepped in between Superman and the Absorbing Man. "No, that's not how it's going to work, shithead," Spider-Man shot back. "You want to get to Superman, you're going to have to go through me. And the fact that you're green and glowing doesn't scare me."

Behind him, Superman stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Haw, haw, haw!" Creel laughed. "Guess what, stupid? Looks like I don't even have to be close to 'im to kill 'im with this stuff! So go ahead, get in between us, wall crawler. All I have to do is stand here. So you sure you don't want to rethink what you just said to me?"

Superman staggered to his feet, took a few uneasy steps backward, then ran out the bank door. He took off into the air and flew up into the sky, away from the bank.

"Would ya look at that!" Creel howled. "I got Superman on the run!" He turned and looked around at his colleagues in crime, grinning from ear to ear. Selina began clapping and cheering, while Marko and Lynns just laughed and laughed. Even Seth, who was starting to come out of his state of shock, managed a smile and a chuckle.

Spider-Man turned towards the door and looked out after his friend. He could still see Superman, hovering high in the sky, backlit by the midday sun. He stretched his arms out at his sides, and just hovered there, motionless.

"All right, you web-headed jerk," Creel said, shoving Spider-Man. "Get out of our way. Or did you still want us to go through you first?"

Spider-Man pointed and nodded toward the hovering Superman. "Wait for it," he said.

"Huh?"

Creel and a couple of his cohorts gathered near the door and looked out.

Off in the distance, approaching Superman, flew a familiar looking armored figure.

"Is that Iron Man?" Lynns asked.

As the armored figure got close to Superman, the arms, legs, torso, and helmet all opened up, revealing that it was just an empty suit of armor. It quickly latched itself onto him, encasing his body in a protective suit.

The group of villains started backing slowly away from the door.

Superman flew at full speed back toward the bank. He came down for a dramatic "hero pose" landing, hitting the ground on one knee with his clenched fist striking the ground. Then he stood up, giving the villains their first good clear look at the suit of armor he now wore. It resembled Iron Man's Mark VII suit, but it was red and blue instead of red and gold. And, on the chest, was the classic "S" shield logo. His cape still billowed behind him in the wind. The sight was awe-inspiring.

The armored Superman strode confidently back into the bank. Without so much as a word, the slit over his mouth opened, and he unleashed an arctic-cold blast of freeze-breath directly at Creel. Creel screamed, raising his arms over his face to try to block the brutal cold that seared his skin. A gigantic chunk of ice began to form around Creel, slowly trapping him inside it. As the ice took shape around him, his skin began to transform, taking on the properties of the ice rather than the kryptonite. His body shifted from green to a translucent shade of light blue. Within moments, Creel was not only entombed in ice, but he himself had become a frozen statue inside of it.

The stream of freeze breath stopped.

"Anybody else?" Superman asked, casually.

The other four villains all shook their heads meekly.

"Nicely done, Boy Scout," Stark chirped over the earpiece. "By the way, you know I get royalties every time you wear that suit, right?"

"Hey Stark," Spider-Man jumped in, pressing a finger to his ear to hear the earpiece better. "You get anything from those doohickeys I showed you?"

"Way ahead of you, web head," Stark replied. "That radio transceiver you snagged from Sandman's briefcase was broadcasting a signal back to an address in downtown Metropolis. 1580 Lieber Street. Superman, at super speed you should be able to be there in—"

"Save your breath, shell head!" a new voice piped in over the communicator. "I can be there and back before Supes can tie his shoelaces!"

There was a woosh of air and a surge of static electricity that caused the lights in the bank to flicker for a moment. Standing in front of them as if they appeared out of nowhere were Bart Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, and a portly gentleman that he had apparently dragged there with him. The Flash wore a bright red costume with a yellow lightning bolt insignia on the chest, and sported a metal JLA armband just like his compatriots. He shoved the other man unceremoniously to the ground. The bespectacled gentleman with the long greasy hair was someone Superman recognized immediately.

"Winslow P. Schott," Superman said, crossing his arms. "Also known as the Toyman. So you're the mystery man who put this group together."

"Really?" Spider-Man asked. "There's a Toyman? That's a thing? I didn't even know that was a guy."

"By the way," Flash interjected, putting a hand on Superman's shoulder. "The Metro Diner is solid, but, if you really want the best pancakes of all time, you have to hit up The Original Pancake House in Niagara Falls, New York. Freshly squeezed orange juice, too." Then, in a burst of speed, he was gone again.

Spider-Man tapped on his armband in frustration. "Is everyone listening in on this thing all the time?"

"Kinda," Stark replied over the commlink.

Superman grabbed Winslow Schott by the arm and hoisted him to his feet. Schott looked around frantically, confused as to how he had suddenly appeared here.

"Why go to all this trouble, Winslow?" Superman asked. "Why put together a group of villains like this?"

"Ha! Are you kidding?" Schott replied. "I didn't have a choice! Ever since you heroes all joined up to form your little Justice League, we criminals HAVE TO work together if we want to have ANY hope of pulling anything off!"

Superman set Schott back down on the ground. Schott dusted himself off, then gestured dramatically at himself and the other five villains gathered behind him.

"I give you… THE SINISTER SIX!" Schott proclaimed with a flourish.

Superman and Spider-Man exchanged glances.

"First of all, that name's been used," Spider-Man informed him, pretending to stifle a fake yawn. "And second of all, declaring the name of your villain team AFTER you've just had your asses handed to you? Not very impressive."

Winslow's face fell. Somehow he seemed sincerely disappointed by this.

"Quick update, gents," Stark piped in over their earpieces once again. "SHIELD has some transport units on the way to pick these guys up. They're even sending the special unit they designed for Victor Fries, so they'll be able to keep Creel on ice."

"Sounds good. Thanks, Tony," Superman replied.

"Wait. There's one other thing," Stark continued. The tone in his voice had changed. "Kent. Parker. I switched channels. I'm coming through just your comms now. No one else can hear this."

"Oh, NOW he does that?" Spider-Man exclaimed, annoyed.

"Guys. Listen," Stark said. "You won't believe who just popped up on the radar for the first time in months."

Superman and Spider-Man looked at each other.

"Who?"

"The Bald Eagle himself," Stark said. "We've finally got a location on Lex Luthor."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

The enormous citadel stood proudly on the dark side of the moon, a grand and complex piece of architecture that few had ever laid eyes on. Its sole inhabitant, Uatu, was known as the Watcher of this part of the universe. His solemn duty was to observe and chronicle the ever-unfolding events of history, but never to interfere. He stood with hands folded neatly behind his back and he stared out into space toward at the blue and green planet known as Earth.

There was a quiet but distinct mechanical hum approaching from behind him. Uatu did not turn around. "Hello, Metron," Uatu said in a somber greeting. "Hello, my old friend."

"Hello, Uatu," Metron replied. He sat upon a great throne known as a Mobius chair, which levitated in midair. The chair continued to hum softly as it floated toward Uatu. "It is good to see you again."

"Not under the best of circumstances, I am afraid," Uatu replied, finally taking his gaze off of Earth and turning toward Metron.

Metron folded his hands in front of him thoughtfully. "So you indicated in your message. What is it that troubles the Watcher so? You have witnessed untold centuries of history play out before you, and yet I have never seen you look as pensive as you do now."

"I have never seen such a confluence of events as what is playing out as we speak," Uatu replied. He gestured toward another area of the citadel. "Come. Let me show you what is occurring even now."

Uatu crossed the room to a large bank of machinery. Metron quietly followed his troubled friend in his levitating chair. With a few swift motions of his hands, Uatu activated the devices laid out before him. Several holographic images appeared in midair. With a few more gestures Uatu was able to move the images around, bringing certain ones to the forefront while others were shuffled to the back. The image that was now front and center in their field of view was of the fiery war planet known as Apokolips. Just above it was the image of the planet's ruthless overlord.

"You know of the despot known as Darkseid," Uatu said. It was not a question, more of a statement of fact.

"All too well," Metron replied.

"Then you know that his all-consuming quest has always been to learn the secrets of the fabled anti-life equation."

"Indeed. With knowledge of the anti-life equation, Darkseid could rob any living being of any will of their own, turning them instead into an instrument of Darkseid's own fiendish design."

"He has found the solution to the equation," Uatu said, grimly. "One of the earliest known solutions to the anti-life equation was found on Earth in ancient Egypt, and that knowledge was possessed by a powerful mutant known to some as En Sabah Nur. To others, he is known as Apocalypse. I do not believe is a coincidence that both he, and the planet that Darkseid rules over, share a name that refers to the coming of the end times."

"How did Darkseid come to align himself with a mutant Earthling?" Metron asked.

The Watcher motioned once again with his hands and shuffled the images around. They now watched the group of mutant freedom fighters known as the X-Men battling En Sabah Nur in the 1980s. He was flanked by four horsemen: Magneto, Psylocke, Angel, and Storm.

"In his search for knowledge of the anti-life equation, Darkseid learned of En Sabah Nur using a simple derivative of the equation to enhance the powers of four mutants and subtly influence their will to align with his own machinations," Uatu explained. "En Sabah Nur was believed to be killed at the conclusion of this battle with the X-Men, but, he was recently resurrected. With his new incarnation came an enlightenment that allowed him to achieve a more advanced, more complex solution to the equation. Now he could truly strip an individual of their will and transform them into an instrument of pure destruction."

Metron brought his folded hands to his lips and looked on silently.

"Darkseid struck a deal with Apocalypse," Uatu continued. "Apocalypse can conduct the anti-life transformation process on but a few individuals at a time, almost always four in number. Darkseid, who had spent his whole life in a tireless quest for the equation, could implement it on hundreds, even thousands at once. If Apocalypse would join forces and share knowledge of the anti-life equation with Darkseid, then Darkseid would assist him in wiping all humans from the planet Earth in a mass genocide, leaving only mutants."

"I see," said Metron. "Is what they intend to do?"

"It is phase one," Uatu continued. "Once the humans have been eliminated, Darkseid then intends to use the equation to launch an all-out war on the planet New Genesis. By that point he will have an army of soulless soldiers with which to overrun the planet. His victory would be assured."

Uatu waved his hands again and shuffled the images once more.

"He already has four super-powered beings under his control," Uatu continued. "As a demonstration of the equation, Apocalypse turned the four members of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four into his new horsemen."

The image that now appeared before Uatu and Metron were of the quartet that used to be Reed Richards, Susan Storm-Richards, Johnny Strom, and Ben Grimm. The former Fantastic Four had been transformed, via the anti-life equation, into dark and twisted versions of themselves who were ready to serve Darkseid and Apocalypse.

"It is fortunate, then, that the heroes of Earth have recently organized themselves into one united Justice League," Metron commented.

"Is it, Metron?" Uatu asked. The images before him now showed dozens of heroes including Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Iron Man, the Flash, Captain America, and many others. "Is it indeed so fortunate? If Darkseid aims to turn the most powerful beings to his side, then the heroes of the Earth would only serve to become his weapons. I fear that an assembly of these heroes may only prove to be more ammunition for Darkseid's deadly arsenal."

"This sounds very grim, old friend. Is there no hope?"

Uatu paused thoughtfully. "These two individuals, who have been at the epicenter of many events that have led to where we are today, show some potential to turn the tide. If, indeed, anyone can." As he spoke, the images of Superman and Spider-Man moved closer to the two viewers.

"The last son of Krypton," Metron remarked with recognition. "And, the sensational Spider-Man."

The holographic images began to diverge from each other and spread out. New images began hovering all around the pair of friends, surrounding them.

Jonathan and Martha Kent holding baby Kal-El in the middle of a field, with their overturned truck behind them. Peter Parker being bitten by a genetically altered super spider while on a field trip with his high school class. A teenage Clark Kent pulling Lex Luthor from the underwater car wreck beneath Loeb Bridge. A battle-worn Spider-Man, witnessing Norman Osborn being impaled by his own goblin glider. Clark Kent and Peter Parker meeting each other for the first time at the offices of the Daily Bugle and shaking hands. Spider-Man perched on a rooftop beside Clark, who was wearing a special costume that included a yellow visor across his eyes. Clark hoisting Mjolnir to fight the Incredible Hulk as the jade giant lay waste to the Triskelion. Clark Kent and Peter Parker, both looking solemn and dressed in black, laying flowers at the grave of Chloe Sullivan. Superman appearing publicly for the first time in his famous red and blue costume to catch a crashing plane while Spider-Man frantically swung around pulling civilians to safety. Superman lifting the Negative Zone Prison into the sky, knowing full well it may be his last heroic effort as the prison came closer and closer to exploding. Spider-Man rescuing Superman from the murky abyss of the Negative Zone.

"This unlikely friendship between a living god from a dead world and a human gifted with the powers of an arachnid was, in many ways, what led to the formation of the Justice League itself," Uatu commented. "They were an inspiration to many who wished to join with them and unite in the pursuit of a greater good."

"Then are they not the best equipped to oppose Darkseid and En Sabah Nur?" Metron inquired.

"Ironically, there are six individuals whom many would consider to be villains who may stand the best chance of defeating that unholy alliance." The images changed once again. They now showed Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul, Vandal Savage, the Red Skull, Magneto, and Dr. Doom. "This secret society has undertaken a quest to locate the six infinity gems and assemble the legendary infinity gauntlet. If they succeed, the gauntlet would be powerful enough to defeat Darkseid and his anti-life equation, or at least to rebuild the ruins of Earth in the aftermath."

Uatu waved his hand once again and all of the images ceased.

"Then the greatest hope for success lies in the hands of a group of villains?" Metron asked.

"It is a bleaker picture than that, old friend," Uatu replied. "If a war is coming with Darkseid and the anti-life equation on one side, men like Dr. Doom and Lex Luthor with the infinity gauntlet on the other, and all the heroes of Earth caught in the middle, I fear that the fate of the very universe is in jeopardy. This war could bring about the end of all that is."

Uatu stared silently at Metron for several long moments.

"But perhaps the most disturbing thing," Uatu continued, "is that this news does not surprise you in the least."

"What makes you say that, old friend?" Metron replied.

"The entire time I have been telling you this tale and showing you these images you have not so much as batted an eye or raised your brow. You have asked questions and made comments but they seem almost rehearsed, those of a man pretending not to know what he already knows." Uatu was growing more agitated as he spoke. "Your Mobius chair allows you to transverse the time stream, Metron. You have advanced knowledge of the past, present, and future. The days that lie ahead are not a mystery to you." He paused, hoping that was he was about to say was incorrect. "You know, don't you? You know that I am right, and that there truly are catastrophic times ahead?"

Metron looked very solemnly at Uatu. "Why have you really called me here?" he asked, rather than respond to his accusations.

"I have sworn an oath never to interfere in the events of history. Merely to observe and record them. But you, Metron, have sworn no such oath. With your Mobius chair and your ability to travel through time, you could stop what is coming. You could end this catastrophe before it even begins. Will you do it, my friend? Will you intercede and stop the coming armageddon?"

Metron's chair slowly levitated a bit higher. He looked thoughtful. Perhaps he was considering Uatu's request.

Then, he replied simply, "All things come to an end, Uatu." His chair floated higher and higher into the air toward an opening in the ceiling of the citadel. "Even universes."

Without giving the Watcher a chance for further rebuttal, Metron and his Mobius chair flew up into the darkness of space and out of sight.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Somewhere in the western region of the North Atlantic Ocean, a furious rainstorm beat down on the remains of a decimated oil tanker. The ship had been declared missing years ago and had never been recovered, another unexplained victim of the mysterious and mythical area known as the Bermuda Triangle.

A lone figure in a suit of green and purple armor soared through the sky, propelled by jet-thrusters in his boots. He clutched a large metal case to his chest, streaking through the storm as best he could as rain blasted him in the face and blurred his vision. He finally arrived at the oil tanker, cut the power to his rocket boots, and skidded to a rough landing on the main deck of the ship. Lex Luthor took a few moments to catch his breath.

The front half of the ship's hull was underwater. Lex was very careful to maintain his balance on the uneven surface. He set the metal case down for a moment, leaving it behind as he warily made his way down the steep decline toward the submerged front of the ship.

When he got as close to the waterline as he dared to go, he saw it. There, just below the surface of the water, was a red, glowing jewel. It radiated an intense light that cast an ethereal glow through the water all around it, making it look ominously like blood. The water swirled around the jewel like a vortex, creating a whirlpool effect. The wind was even stronger here, and the rain seemed to be blowing in from all sides rather than down from the sky.

Lex just stood there for a few moments, transfixed. It was so beautiful. Hypnotic. It was a force that defied nature.

Then, almost as if he was dreaming, he began to experience very vague, hazy images forming in front of him in the mist, as if rising up from the amber light of the jewel in the water.

He saw a man, ripping a wig off of his own head, bombastically proclaiming himself "The greatest criminal mind of our time!"

That image gave way to another man, with a full head of hair this time, wearing an expensive suit and puffing on a cigar as he stood on the balcony of a tower overlooking the nighttime city skyline.

Then, a third man, once again bald, this time wearing a white suit, traipsing his way down a set of jagged steps on an unnatural mass of kryptonite land.

Finally, a fourth man, much younger than the others, with long scraggly hair, wildly declaring "The red capes are coming! The red capes are coming!"

In a way that Lex could not explain, he knew that all four of those men were versions of himself. Variants from other worlds, other universes. Lex was so caught up in these visions that he didn't notice the low hum of a jet engine in the distance, gradually becoming louder as it approached him.

He was finally snapped out of his fascination with the mirages emanating from the jewel when the Javelin roared by overhead. The airship, one of seven used by the JLA to travel between their Watchtower satellite and Earth, did a 180 degree turn, then stopped and hovered in midair above the oil tanker.

A hatch in the bottom of the Javelin slid open. Spider-Man dropped out of the hatch and landed in a crouched position on the deck of the tanker, splashing water up around him as he touched down. "Lex Luthor!" he yelled, slowly rising up, fists clenched. "You're under arrest!"

A second figure descended from the hatch, slowly floating down towards the deck. At first, Lex thought it was Iron Man, sporting a new suit of red and blue armor. However, he quickly realized who it must be when he spotted the "S" insignia on the chest and the cape billowing in the wind.

"Hello, Clark," Lex said, smugly. "When did you start taking your fashion cues from Tony Stark?"

Superman finally touched down next to Spider-Man. The faceplate of his helmet flipped open, revealing the face of Lex's longtime friend turned arch nemesis, Clark Kent.

"I couldn't take the chance that you'd have kryptonite with you," Superman replied calmly.

"I don't carry a piece of your home planet around with me anymore," Lex said with a shrug. He held up his right hand. Servos and circuitry peeled back a layer of the armor that he wore, exposing him from fingertips to elbow. His hand underneath the armor was mechanical, a cybernetic construct that replaced the hand he'd had amputated years ago. He slowly opened and closed his artificial hand. "Or did you forget that kryptonite cancer cost me my hand?"

"If you're looking for sympathy, you're not going to get it," Spider-Man said. He took several steps toward Lex. "You're under arrest for the murder of Chloe Sullivan. For the murders of the Fantastic Four. For the murders of the nearly 2,000 people who were killed in the destruction of the Baxter Building. And for high treason committed while holding the office of President of the United States. You have the right to remain-"

Lex held up a finger as if to interject. "I'm sorry to interrupt you," he said. "But, we really don't have time for this." His armor re-formed itself around his right arm and hand.

Spider-Man laughed. "You're joking, right? You think you can talk your way out of this?" He got right up in Lex's face. "You killed Chloe, in cold blood. You've escaped justice enough times, Lex. It's over."

"Lex," Superman chimed in, looking around at their bizarre surroundings. "What are you doing out here?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Clark," Lex responded. "But I'm actually glad you're here. I could use your help."

"YOU could use OUR help?" Spider-Man scoffed. "Are you desperate, or just insane?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer, Mister Parker," Lex said. "But I will make a deal with you. I'll come along quietly, and let you take me into custody without a fight, on one simple condition." He turned and pointed at the gem, still glowing beneath the swirling water below. "That comes with us."

Superman and Spider-Man very cautiously approached the submerged front of the ship. They stared down into the churning water and its eerie red luminescence.

"What… IS that?" Superman asked.

"It's an infinity gem," Lex replied. "Specifically, the reality gem. And we're going to need it for what's coming next."

Spider-Man held his JLA armband up in the direction of the glowing gem. "Stark," Spider-Man said towards his communicator. "You getting this?"

"Yeah," came Tony Stark's reply via the earpiece. "Hold on a sec. I'm having Stephen Strange verify this."

There was a very long pause.

"Guys," Stark piped back in after a long moment. "Get that gem. Bring it back here. And do not, under any circumstances, let Lex get his hands on it."

"Understood," Spider-Man replied.

"I didn't hear what he said, but I'm sure I get the gist of it," Lex said with a wry grin.

Superman looked back and forth between Lex and the gem beneath the water. He shook his head. Then, he knelt down and slowly reached his hand toward the red glow.

"Wait!" Lex called out.

Superman pulled his hand back.

"Don't touch it," Lex advised. "You might accidentally wind up in a parallel universe, or even subconsciously alter our own."

"Oookay…" Superman said, slowly. "So how am I supposed to get it?"

"Use that," Lex said, nodding toward the metal case he'd left in the middle of the ship's deck.

Superman stood up, looked at the case, and tried to peek inside with his x-ray vision. He found that he could not.

"It's lined with lead," Superman said through gritted teeth.

"Old habits," Lex shrugged again.

Superman walked over to the case. He stood next to it for a long time before opening it.

"It could be a trap," Spider-Man said.

"I appreciate that you think so highly of me," Lex said sarcastically. "But I had no idea you two were going to show up here. Why would I have brought a trap for you?"

"I seem to remember you taking pride in being two steps ahead of everyone at all times," Spider-Man replied.

Lex frowned. "That's true," he said. "But these days I fear I'm running out of steps."

Superman knelt down beside the case. After a few more moments of hesitation, he flipped open the clasps on either side of it, and opened the lid.

Inside was a large gauntlet, with six recesses on it. Each recess looked like it was meant to hold an oval-shaped object.

"Go ahead," Lex said. "Put it on." His tone seemed to leave an implied "I dare you" hanging unspoken in the air.

Slowly, reluctantly, Superman lifted the gauntlet from the case, and put it onto his left hand. Then he stood and began walking toward the whirlpool at the front of the ship, his rain-soaked cape still flapping behind him in the wind. The faceplate of his armor flipped shut again, and the eyes of his Iron-Man-inspired helmet glowed.

Superman stood just before the point where the ship submerged beneath the water. He reached his hand out once more toward the glowing gem at the whirlpool's epicenter. The water bubbled violently. Suddenly, the red gem shot up out of the water, carrying a jet of water like a geyser with it. The gem was pulled to the gauntlet like a magnet, snapping itself perfectly into place inside one of the six recesses.

The mist grew thicker for a moment. Two figures appeared within the mist, both dressed all in white. One of the figures reached out a hand, as if pointing or gesturing to Superman, Spider-Man, and Lex Luthor. The second figure put a hand over its mouth as if in shock or surprise. Then, just as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared.

The mist, the wind, and the rain all stopped. The whirlpool in the water vanished, and the ocean was instantly calm. In fact, there was not a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone down on them from above.

They all looked at each other in disbelief.

"Lex…" Superman said. "You have a LOT of explaining to do."

Meanwhile, back in Metropolis. In the back of a SHIELD prisoner transport van sat Winslow P. Schott, Flint Marko, Selina Kyle, Garfield Lynns, and Seth Nelson. Each of them had their hands in front of them in large restraints. In a separate containment unit at the back of the van, Carl Creel was still immobilized in a huge block of ice, being kept at a sub-zero temperature with technology usually reserved for Mr. Freeze.

"Where do you think they'll send us?" Seth asked.

"Belle Reeve for you and me, most likely," Schott replied. "Arkham for Selina and Lynns. I'm not sure about Marko or Creel."

"I heard Stark had Hank Pym create a miniature prison for super-powered criminals," Selina said. "They shrink them down so small that they can keep the whole thing in a desk drawer."

"I heard they built a prison called The Raft," Marko said. "It's in the middle of the freaking ocean."

"I heard about one in the middle of the Nevada desert called The Cube," Lynns said.

"God, they're setting up franchises," Selina scoffed.

The van screeched to a stop. Then, they heard what sounded like a large garage door opening up. Then the van slowly proceeded forward. The criminals all looked at each other.

Finally, the van came to a stop, and the driver shut off the engine.

The doors at the back of the van opened.

They didn't see anyone.

They all looked at each other again, confused. Eventually, Schott stood up, and very cautiously made his way to the doors. The other four quickly stood up and followed him. They stepped out of the van, leaving only the frozen Creel still inside.

They were inside a large, dark warehouse with high ceilings. The van had pulled in through a set of garage doors that looked like they had once been some kind of loading dock. The place had obviously been long-since abandoned from whatever its original purpose was.

Two men in suits rushed around from the sides of the van. One grabbed Marko and shoved a needle-gun into his neck, the other did the same to Lynns. Selina screamed and tried to run, but one of the suited men grabbed her next and jabbed a needle into her throat as well, stopping her scream suddenly. Seth tried with all his might to use his magnetic powers to bust out of his restraints or hurl the needles away, but it was no use – something in the restraints was dampening his powers. The next needle went right into the side of his neck. Lastly, Schott, already on his knees, whimpering and cowering, received a needle jabbed into the side of his neck as well.

"I apologize for the theatrics," a baritone voice said, as a third man stepped out of the shadows. The tall, African-American gentleman wore a long black trench coat and sported an eyepatch. "The nanites that were just implanted in your necks are just a precaution. And, despite your rather grim surroundings, I want to assure you that today is, in fact, your lucky day. You have each been granted a new lease on life, and a very exciting opportunity."

The five villains looked up in a state of dazed disbelief, at former SHIELD director Nick Fury.

"I don't suppose," Fury said, "that any of you have ever heard of the Suicide Squad?"

Later, in outer space. About 12,500 miles above the Earth. The Justice League Avengers Watchtower. The Javelin docked with the space station, taking its place in a large hangar that held several other identical airships. The hangar airlock closed behind the ship and sealed itself tight before its crew of Superman, Spider-Man, and Lex Luthor disembarked. Superman was still wearing most of the red and blue armor, although he had completely removed the helmet at this point. Spider-Man had also removed his mask, seeing little point in wearing it since Lex had uncovered his true identity during the cloning project he had carried out while he was president. Superman had a firm grip on Lex's left arm, Spider-Man on his right, as they led him off the Javelin.

Tony Stark, wearing an expensive navy-blue blazer over an AC/DC t-shirt and a pair of jeans, met them in the hangar.

"It's good to see you, Tony," Lex said with a smile.

"Does anyone else find it extremely creepy how he always seems genuinely happy to see his worst enemies?" Stark said.

"You have no idea," Superman said.

"Take him to Banner's old cell," Stark said. "It's a bit extreme, but it will do until we figure out what to do with him. I want to run a full diagnostic on his armor. Where's the gem?"

Superman nodded toward the Javelin. "Metal case, in the cockpit."

As Superman and Spider-Man escorted Lex to his cell, Tony hopped on board the Javelin. He walked into the cockpit and found the metal case, laying on the co-pilot's seat. He flipped the clasps open and lifted the lid of the case. Inside was the gauntlet, with the reality gem firmly affixed in one of the recesses. Tony stared at it for a long time. Then he sighed and shook his head. "Well, shit," he muttered, and slammed the case shut.

An hour later, in the holding cell aboard the Watchtower. Lex sat on the floor of the empty cell, behind six-inch-thick glass. Tony Stark approached the cell, holding a very small, ultra-thin tablet in his hand. Lex looked up.

"Tony," Lex said in greeting.

"Lex," Stark replied, with a nod, tapping a few buttons on the tablet.

"You have any scotch or brandy on board this thing?" Lex asked.

"Of course not," Stark answered, a little too quickly. Then, after a pause, he added, "Well, yes, I do, but that's my own personal stash, it's not for public consumption."

Lex raised his hands in mock-surrender, indicating he was dropping the subject.

"Look, I'll get to the point," Stark said. "I've analyzed the armor that you're wearing. It's a very different model from the one you had built at Lex-Stark International. That one had an array of offensive capabilities. This one has a few, but you've slimmed it down quite a bit. Streamlined it. Repurposed it."

Lex just stared, and didn't reply.

"Lex," Stark said. "This armor is the only thing keeping you alive, isn't it?"

Lex looked away.

"Hey, I built my first armor in a cave," Stark continued. "I made a miniaturized arc reactor from a box of scraps because I needed something to keep the shrapnel out of my heart. I get how this works, and I know it when I see it. You're dying. Radiation poisoning, am I right? And this armor is emitting low-level vita-rays that keep it at bay? Almost like you're giving yourself constant chemo."

"Something like that," Lex finally admitted.

"It's clever. Crude, a little rough around the edges maybe, but clever." Tony held up the tiny tablet he was carrying around. "I've disabled everything in your armor except for the life support. Your rocket boots are offline, your force-field is shut down, your energy blasts are kaput… but the stuff that's keeping you alive is still fully functional."

"So you came over here just to tell me you're not going to pull my plug?" Lex said, cocking his head to one side. "How thoughtful of you."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Spare me the sarcasm. I found one other thing in your armor's array, smartass. A homing signal. Your armor was sending out a beacon with your location, to someone. Who was tracking you, Luthor?"

Lex smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about, Tony," he said, coyly.

"Okay. Play dumb, if you want to. It's not a good color on you, but I guess you only have so many cards left to play," Stark said. "I shut down the homing signal, too. So whoever was looking for you? Don't count on them coming to your rescue any time soon." Stark stuck the tablet in the inside pocket of his blazer.

He turned and started to walk away.

"Tony," Lex called after him.

Stark stopped. "Yeah?" he asked, without turning around.

"What did you do with the gem?"

"We've got some people looking at it," Stark replied.

Meanwhile. A hidden sanctuary hidden deep within the Abu Kubais mountain in Saudi Arabia. A huge bank of high-tech computer equipment which appeared in direct contrast to the ancient and ornate decorations of the sacred temple flashed a series of warnings and alerts on various monitor screens.

The man known as Ra's Al Ghul stepped out from behind a curtain that divided this monitor station from the rest of the temple.

"What is the problem, gentlemen?" Ra's asked.

The men who were operating the computer station got quickly to their feet, then bowed.

"Sir, you wished to be told if Lex Luthor's tracking device went offline," one of the men said, nervously. "It has just done so."

"Excellent," Ra's replied, with a smile. "Then all is going according to plan. You may now engage the secondary tracking device."

"Yes, sir," the men replied in unison. They quickly returned to their computer station and flipped a switch.

The warnings on the screens ceased.

A constant, steady blip returned to the screen.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Doctor Miles Warren stumbled out of the Wild Coyote a little after 2:00 a.m. He fumbled around in his jacket pocket for his keys as he wobbled his way toward the parking lot. He had at least two days' worth of stubble and he reeked of cheap liquor.

He zigged and zagged his way to his 1989 Buick Skylark, and, upon finally procuring his keys from his pocket, promptly dropped them on the ground.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. He braced one hand against the car door as he bent down to pick up the keys. It was so dark, and he was so inebriated, that it took him a good 30 seconds just to complete the simple fine motor task of picking them up off of the pavement.

He stood back up just in time to hear the metallic click of a handgun being cocked behind him.

"Jesus," a vaguely familiar female voice muttered. "What the hell happened to you, doc?"

Doctor Warren turned around very slowly.

He did not immediately recognize the blonde woman who was pointing the gun at him. He knew he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. His intoxicated state certainly wasn't helping his memory, but staring down the barrel of a gun seemed to be helping him sober up rather quickly.

"Who… who are you?" he stammered. "What do you want?"

The woman smirked. "You don't remember me? I guess I can see why. I've aged a lot since the last time you saw me."

She stepped a little closer and let the light from a nearby streetlamp illuminate her face. It was only now that Warren noticed that the woman's flippy blonde hair had streaks of gray in it, and there were crow's feet at the corners of her eyes that seemed unnaturally dark in contrast to her otherwise generally youthful features. The odd mix of age and youth was something Warren had seen before. It suddenly occurred to him who this woman must be.

"You're… you're Subject 27," Warren said, his eyes wide.

She laughed. "Drunk as a skunk and you can remember a file number off the top of your head. You're good, doctor. I tend to go by Nellie Bly these days, though."

"Are you here to kill me?" Doctor Warren asked, backing away slightly.

"Oh please," she said, lowering the gun slightly. "If I wanted you dead I could just let you get in that car in your current state and try to drive home, and save myself the time, effort, and bullets. Having said that, doc, if you try to run or scream I won't hesitate to shoot you somewhere very painful."

"Then… then what do you want?"

"I need you to fix me," she said, taking another step closer. "Look at me. I'm aging way too fast. I bleed out of my eyeballs sometimes. And the voices in my head… the memories, the intrusive thoughts. They're driving me insane."

Warren nodded. "The aging and the bleeding, I can't do anything about," he said. "I tried to tell Lex. It was happening with all of the clones that we made from deceased blood samples. If the subject had been dead for too long, we had to use a derivation of the… what was it… the Lazarus Serum. We never perfected it. I needed more time, more money. Lex wanted to rush everything. I was never able to find a cure for those side effects."

Nellie rushed at Professor Warren and thrust the gun at his face.

"Then what are you doing at CADMUS Labs? What are you working on there?"

"H-How do you know about that?" he stammered.

"I've been following you, doctor. I've seen how you come and go from that place at all hours of the day and night. When you're not here drinking away your sorrows you're at CADMUS working on, what? More twisted experiments for Lex? What does he have you doing?"

"I haven't been in contact with Luthor for months," Warren insisted, shaking. "He went off the grid not long after the N-Zone Prison fiasco. I don't know where he is now, honest!"

"What about the voices, doc?" Nellie breathed, her face mere inches from his, so close that the smell of the bottom-shelf whiskey he'd been drinking all night burned her nostrils. "Can you make the voices stop? I have two personalities at war in my mind at all times. One has memories of growing up in Smallville. Being best friends with Clark Kent, Lana Lang, and Pete Ross. Wanting to grow up and be a reporter for the Daily Planet. And the other wants to do absolutely nothing but find and kill Peter Parker. To spill his blood. To watch the light and life fade from his eyes. I want… no, I need… no, I CRAVE his death."

Warren was shaking like a leaf. "That… that's your mental programming. Lex… initially wanted to clone you because he thought you had healing powers. He thought maybe you could heal his radiation poisoning. But, then, when that turned out to be false, he found a different use for you. Parker found out too much about Lex's operation. He was a prisoner in Lex's lab at the time, but Lex knew there was always the chance that he'd escape, or that the Justice League would come rescue him. He knew Parker trusted you. So he gave you a mental re-write. Conditioned you. Hot-wired your brain. Made it so you'd assassinate Parker as soon as you got the chance, and think about nothing else until you did."

She put the tip of the gun to Dr. Warren's lips as if it were an index finger, shushing him.

"I know all of this, you drunken idiot. I ended up killing Peter Parker's clone, remember? You sent me the chemical-laced champagne that neutralized his spider sense." Though she was growing angrier by the moment, it was the restrained calmness in her voice that was downright terrifying. "What I want to know is. Can? You? Fix? Me?" she asked, tapping the gun against his mouth to punctuate each word.

"The mental programing was more Hugo's area of expertise than mine," Warren said quickly, trembling as he spoke. "But I think his notes are logged at CADMUS. I… I think I remember Lex asking him to build in a failsafe codeword of some kind that would negate the programming." Nellie pulled the gun away and cocked her head to one side, narrowing her eyes. "I… I'm not promising anything," Warren continued. "But. With a little luck… maybe… MAYBE we can turn you back into just Chloe Sullivan."

"Chloe Sullivan!" Nellie threw her head back and laughed. A crazed, demented, bone-chilling laugh. "I don't think you understand, doctor," she said, regaining her composure. She pressed the barrel of the gun against her own temple and smiled an absolutely insane smile. "I want you to get that plucky bitch out of my head so I can finish my fucking job."

.

Elsewhere. A SHIELD Helicarrier flew over the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere off the coast of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. A JLA Javelin swooped down from the clouds, firing its reverse rocket thruster jets to slow its descent as it approached the Helicarrier. It touched down perfectly on the flight deck.

After a few moments, four men disembarked. Superman and Spider-Man, in their traditional costumes, slowly led Lex Luthor off the jet. Lex was still in his green and purple armor, though his hands were shackled in front of him. Last to disembark from the jet was Tony Stark, wearing a three-piece Armani suit and a pair of sunglasses and carrying the metal case that held the gauntlet.

"I still don't understand why we had to bring him with us," Spider-Man said, nodding toward Lex.

"I thought it best to keep him moving," Stark replied. "I'll explain later."

Stephen Strange, sorcerer supreme and master of the mystic arts, met them on the flight deck. His long red cape billowed behind him majestically in the wind.

"Stephen," said Tony, deftly stepping to the front of the group and extending a hand to the sorcerer. "Thank you for meeting us here."

"Certainly, Tony," Stephen replied, accepting the handshake.

Stark held up the case. "I'd very much appreciate your professional opinion on this item."

Strange nodded. "Though I viewed it earlier in my astral form, and it appeared to be legitimate, I'd like a closer look at it myself. And, I brought a few other individuals with me whose input I value greatly as well."

"Oh?" Stark said, removing his sunglasses. "Who exactly are we talking about?"

About twenty minutes later, in the command center of the Helicarrier, Stephen Strange, Zatanna Zatara, Jason Blood, and John Constantine stood in a circle around a raised platform. The gauntlet, with its singular infinity gem affixed to it, sat in the center of the platform, emitting a faint glow. The SHIELD computer systems onboard the Helicarrier were running an in-depth spectral analysis on the gem, but whatever data the computers might yield about the stone were of secondary importance to the people in this room.

Dr. Strange was waving his hands around like he was doing some kind of hyper Tai Chi, pushing and pulling the very energy around the gauntlet. Zatanna, by contrast, was standing almost perfectly still, arms outstretched in front of her with her palms facing upward as if in a yoga pose, quietly reciting backward enchantments. Jason Blood was reading in a monotone voice from a large book of ancient spells that he held in front of him, glancing up at the gauntlet every so often to observe the fading and intensifying of the glowing gem. John Constantine was chain-smoking, muttering to himself as he lit his fifth cigarette in as many minutes; whether his utterances were incantations or he was just really pissed off was not immediately clear.

At length, Jason Blood closed the lofty tome and placed it under his arm. He looked at Dr. Strange and gave a simple, solemn nod. Strange looked at Zatanna, who pursed her lips and nodded as well. Lastly, Dr. Strange looked to Constantine, who exhaled a long, slow puff of smoke, closed his eyes, and nodded as well.

Dr. Strange turned to Tony Stark, Superman, Spider-Man, and Lex Luthor who had been watching this unfold with silent fascination. "The four of us are in agreement," Strange said. "The artifact is authentic. It is the reality gem, one of the six infinity gems. It can be used to manipulate the laws of physics and logic, even tap into or communicate with alternate universes. When combined with the other gems, it could be used to alter reality itself on a cosmic scale."

"I could have told you all of this," Lex said with a smirk. "But I guess you didn't want to just take my word for it."

Dr. Strange sneered skeptically at Lex. "And why exactly were you seeking out an infinity gem, Mister Luthor?"

"Who said I was only going after one?" Lex replied, coldly.

Dr. Strange took a few steps toward Lex. "You're trying to assemble the infinity gauntlet?"

"It's the only thing that could possibly save humanity from the crisis that's coming our way," Lex replied.

Tony Stark had to stifle a laugh. "Oh, and you're in the business of trying to save humanity?" he said, folding his arms. "What's next? You want to join the Justice League?"

"Mock me if you must," Lex replied. "I know we all have a rather sordid history together, and I don't expect any of you to trust me out of hand." He turned toward Superman. "But you know me better than anyone in this room. You know I wouldn't be proposing an alliance if I weren't desperate."

Superman didn't respond. He looked away for a moment, considering his friend-turned-enemy's words carefully.

"So what exactly is this threat that's coming our way?" Spider-Man asked.

"Tell me," Lex said ominously. "Have any of you ever heard of Darkseid?"

As if on cue, alarms began blaring like crazy.

Stark ran over to a computer console. He put his sunglasses back on. "Show me," he said. Instantly the computers interfaced with tiny screens built into his shades to display the cause of the distress.

"What's going on?" Zatanna asked.

"It's the Troublert," Stark replied, seeing readouts and newsfeeds on his glasses. "There's a massive energy disturbance in the middle of New York City. Something… something just went 'boom'."

Lex's eyes went wide. "Did you say… 'boom'?"

Stark put his hand up to his glasses, then made a sweeping gesture with his hand toward a large monitor at the front of the room. The view from his sunglasses display transferred immediately to the large screen.

They were looking at a street in the middle of downtown Manhattan. There was a giant tube-like portal in the middle of the street, with a bright yellow light emanating from it. Cars that had swerved to avoid the massive portal had crashed into one another. Pedestrians were gathering around to see what was going on. At the bottom of the monitor, news crawls from local TV stations began to appear, along with alternate angles taken from cell phones or people going live on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Four shadows appeared inside the portal.

"No…" Lex whispered.

"Do you know what this is, Lex?" Superman asked.

The shadowy figures grew closer.

"We're too late," Lex said. "It's already starting."

The first figure emerged fully from the portal. He was gaunt, lanky. His facial features drooped as if he had suffered a stroke. His limbs sagged and slunked, his arms nearly dragged on the ground like limp spaghetti. His brown hair had streaks of gray around the temples. On the chest of his blue uniform was an insignia bearing a number 4.

"Is that Reed Richards?" Stark gasped. "What the hell happened to him?"

The second figure was a woman. Her blonde hair was knotted and matted, her eyes bloodshot. She scratched at her skin, leaving blisters on her face. She shimmered in and out of sight, unable to control her inherent ability to appear and disappear at will. She looked around wildly like a skittish animal.

"I thought the Fantastic Four were dead?" Spider-Man exclaimed.

The third figure was a massive, lumbering, inhuman brute. His hide was made of rock, with sharp protrusions sticking out all over. His eyes were glazed over and drool ran down the side of his mouth. He threw his head back and let out a roar that sent onlookers running away in fear. This was truly a monstrous Thing.

"Lex, if you know what's going on here…!" Superman said, threateningly.

Lex closed his eyes and hung his head. He didn't say a word.

The last figure burst through the portal, airborne and aflame. A man who burned so hot his body was awash in a blueish-purple flame, with jet-black smoke leaving a putrid trail in his wake. He shrieked like a banshee, and shot out a searing hot blast of fire from his hands right into a crowd of screaming people.

"Head for the Javelin!" Stark yelled, sprinting for the door.

"Too slow," Superman said. With a whoosh, he was out of the room, off of the Helicarrier, and flying straight for New York City.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Sarah Bickford woke up suddenly with two blaring sounds pounding against her eardrums. One was the sound of a car alarm, going off repeatedly mere feet in front of her, proclaiming a sense of calamity to no one in particular. The other was the sound of her six-month-old daughter, Abby, crying frantically right behind her.

Sarah had to blink a few times to churn away the foggy haze that was clouding her vision. Where was she? What was happening?

She reached up and touched her face gingerly. She pulled her fingers away and saw blood. Her blood. The sight of it snapped her from her fog. She looked around. Suddenly it all came back to her.

She was behind the wheel of her Honda Civic, which had apparently t-boned another car. Looking through her smashed windshield, she could see the driver of the other vehicle was either dead or unconscious. The other car's alarm was the one that was going off incessantly.

Sarah had lost control of her vehicle when a huge explosion had occurred right in front of her. Not an explosion, really… just more of a big "boom" and an opening in the air. The sudden rush of atmosphere as this tear in the very fabric of space opened had caused her car to go careening out of control and smash into this other poor driver. Had she killed this man, she wondered in horror?

Her thoughts quickly turned to her daughter in the back seat, crying hysterically from her carseat. Sarah turned around to look at Abby.

"Abby, sweetie, are you okay?" she asked.

What she saw out the back window of the car tied a knot in her stomach and made her blood run ice cold.

Lumbering towards their car was a gigantic, inhuman monster that seemed to be made of orangish brown rock. Its face was contorted in rage. The cacophony of the car alarm and the crying baby were obviously agitating this Thing, and he was moving angrily toward the source of the unpleasant noises. He reared his head back and roared.

"Shh, shh, shh," Sarah tried to hide the panic that was quickly overtaking her entire body and soothe her crying daughter. "Shhh, Abby, sweetie, don't cry, don't cry," she said, her voice trembling as she reached over the seat towards her daughter. She knew her daughter's cries were drawing the monster closer and she needed to get her to calm down. "It's okay Abby, don't cry, don't cry…"

The Thing stomped his way closer to the vehicle, his wild, insane eyes fixated directly on the crying child. He snarled and lashed his teeth menacingly.

Sarah threw her door open and leapt from the car. She stood in front of the back door, arms spread, putting herself between the monster and her child. Her entire body was shaking.

"Go away!" she snapped at the monster, trying to be brave. "Stay away from my baby! Leave us alone!"

The creature roared again and clenched his massive fists. He reached out and shoved Sarah out of the way with one swat of his inhuman hand, sending her tumbling to the ground. Then he smashed the car window, sending shards of glass flying into the back seat, showering down over the crying child. Startled, Abby stopped crying for a few seconds, her eyes wide. Then, seeing the monster outside her window, she began shrieking even louder than before, pure terror overtaking the poor little child.

Sarah scrambled back to her feet and grabbed onto the monster's arm. Any fear for her own safety was completely gone as the pure instinct of a mother protecting her child filled every fiber of her being.

"Stay away from her!" she screamed, pulling at the creature's arm. "Stay away from my baby!"

But it was as if the Thing paid absolutely no notice to Sarah. Completely fixated on the terrified child, he began to reach his gigantic hand into the window, his outstretched fingers heading right for the child's tender skull.

Off in the distance, there was a sonic boom.

There was a rush of air that swept people off their feet.

Superman appeared behind the monster and clamped a firm hand down on his shoulder, then grabbed his arm. He swung the creature around like an Olympic athlete preparing to throw a discus, then hurled him away with all his might, sending the beast crashing through the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel and completely out the back of the building.

"Oh God," Sarah fell to her knees and burst into tears. "Thank you, Superman, thank you, thank you, thank you," she cried.

Superman raised his JLA armband to his mouth. "I need all available Justice Leaguers to the downtown Manhattan area RIGHT NOW," he bellowed. "Anyone who can fly or speed, we need evac for civilians. There are dozens injured…"

He trailed off for a moment has he looked around and fully took in the scene. Buildings were on fire. Cars were overturned. Innocent people who looked like they'd been mauled by a wild animal lay scattered in the streets, writhing in pain, or, worse yet, completely motionless. He looked at the driver of the car that Sarah had hit, and detected no signs of life.

"…and there are casualties as well," he added, grimly. "There are four superpowered individuals wreaking havoc. I need backup, who can respond?"

He heard Bart Allen chime in with a quick confirmation that he was already on his way, and a reply from Hal Jordan as well. But Superman's attention was already elsewhere. With his x-ray vision, he could see the Thing getting back to his feet on the other side of the hotel.

Superman turned briefly back to Sarah, who had gotten Abby out of her carseat and was clutching her tight. He took a quick look at Abby with his x-ray vision.

"Your daughter is going to be fine, ma'am. She's not hurt. Some friends of mine are going to get you to the hospital."

She managed to mouth "thank you" again through her sobs as she held her daughter as tightly as she could.

Superman sped around to the other side of the hotel and smashed his fist into the Thing's face, sending him tumbling back to the ground. Superman got on top of the monster and punched him again and again, so hard that actual chunks of rock began to break off and dust flew into the air.

"Stay down!" Superman yelled.

The Thing was practically foaming at the mouth, the violence ramping him up instead of slowing him down. He flung his fists in the air madly, trying desperately to smash Superman. Superman managed to dodge the Thing's onslaught by ducking each punch at super-speed. Then Superman grabbed the Thing's hands and pinned them to the ground, and fired a blast of heat vision at him. The Thing howled with pain.

A sudden blast of flame shot down from the sky with such force that it knocked Superman off of the Thing. The torrent of fire didn't let up, pinning Superman down for a moment and burning his cape to ashes.

Superman looked up and saw a red figure floating in the sky, visible through the flames. The Human Torch was unleashing an unyielding, unceasing blast of fire from his hands that was forceful enough to hold Superman down, at least briefly. Superman pushed himself up with his arms, then got up on one knee, then slowly raised himself up to a standing position, all the while getting bombarded with a nonstop stream of fire.

He could barely see through all of the fire and smoke. Superman turned his head, closed his eyes, and took as deep a breath as he possibly could. Then, he turned back toward his aggressor, and blew a stream of his super-breath.

The gust of icy-cold breath blew out the Human Torch's flames, and Johnny Storm fell unceremoniously to the ground. Superman gasped in horror at what he saw.

Most of the flesh had been burned off of Johnny's face, revealing clumps of muscle clinging to his skull. His eyeballs were set back deeply in dark, wide sockets. Every inch of him was covered in blisters and sores. While Johnny had always been immune to harm from his own flames before, something had changed. It was as if he had burned too hot for too long, and his body could no longer withstand the torture he had put it through.

The zombie-like Johnny Storm rose to his feet. Superman could hear Johnny's bones creaking and popping as he stood.

"Flame…" Johnny's voice was gravelly and scratchy, due to most of his larynx having been burned away. "…on."

His entire body once again burst back into unholy flame, and he began belting Superman with another torrent of fire.

Superman turned his head to take another deep breath, but before he could fill his lungs with air something whipped around from behind him and wrapped itself around his face. It was a thin, rubbery substance, like a tarp come to life. It pulled itself so tightly around Superman's face that he couldn't breathe. He grabbed at it and pulled, trying to pry it from his face, but it slithered and slipped through his fingers like melted silly putty. Superman knew that it had to be Reed Richards, although whether it was Reed's arm or leg or torso or some other body part that was adhering itself to him he had no idea. All the while that he struggled to free his face, he continued to get blasted by Johnny's flames.

Superman began to spin around and around like a top at super-speed, sending Reed's limp body flying off of him like cooked noodles. The body of Reed Richards hit the MetLife Building with a splat like a snowball hitting a tree. His form looked only vaguely human as he slid slowly down the side of the building.

Taking just a brief moment to compose himself, Superman went to take another deep breath to put out Johnny's flame, only to find that he couldn't. He tried to suck in a chestfull of air, but something was stopping him. He reached up toward his face. There was an invisible bubble around his head, cutting off his air supply. The last member of this corrupted Fantastic Four had been waiting for her moment to strike, and now she had. Though he couldn't see her, Susan Richards was creating a forcefield around his face.

He was so caught off guard that he didn't notice the Thing running up behind him at full tilt. The brute smashed Superman so hard that he flew across the street and slammed into a row of parked cars.

Superman rolled onto his back. He began punching at the force field, trying to break it. The Thing's blow had knocked the wind out of him, and he wasn't able to get more air. Despite being invulnerable, he still needed to breathe. He was getting lightheaded. He punched and punched and punched at the forcefield to no avail. He stood up and began smashing his head at a brick wall, trying to break the forcefield. He fired his heat vision, only to have it arc back in his face and fizzle out. He placed his hands on either side of the forcefield and pressed, trying to crack it. He fell to his knees. He was gasping for air and finding none.

His vision started to go dark and hazy. Overhead, he could just barely make out two things streaking across the sky.

The first was the Human Torch, coming back to try to finish him off.

The second, just behind the Torch, was a jet plane in the shape of a bat.

The Bat overtook the Human Torch, matching his speed and hovering right above him. Then, with a chut – chut – chut – chut – four black metal pilons shot out of the plane, right past the Torch and embedded themselves in the ground.

The Torch stopped for a moment in midair, looking down at the pilons. Then there was a brilliant crackle of light. The oxygen was momentarily sucked out of the atmosphere, putting out the Torch's flame instantly. He fell to the ground, landing right in the center of the four posts.

Thick sheets of metal shot out of the pilons, connecting them to form a giant box around Johnny Storm. A lid dropped down from The Bat and slammed down on top. Inside, jets of flame-retardant foam began spraying out of every corner of the box, ensuring Johnny would not be able to re-ignite.

The vigilante known as Batman jumped out of the back of the plane. His cape flapped open like two giant wings, slowing his descent to the ground. He landed beside the metal box that had entombed the Torch, and his cape folded back inward and returned to its normal flowing form. He looked at Superman.

Superman put a hand to his own throat and pointed frantically at his mouth, indicating to Batman that he couldn't breathe. The Dark Knight understood the gesture. Without a word, Batman gave two quick taps on the side of his cowl, near his temple. Special lenses snapped into place over his eyes. He grabbed a small device from his utility belt and pressed a button.

An incredibly loud high-pitched whine emitted from the device, shattering windows up and down the block.

Through Batman's lenses, much like a bat's sonar, he could see the soundwaves as they bounced and echoed off of every surface. About twenty yards away, he saw the outline of a woman – a woman he hadn't seen before the lenses were in place.

With one deft motion, he pulled a grappling gun from his utility belt, swung it out in front of himself and fired, sending a rope with a grapple on the end shooting right at the female figure. The rope wrapped itself around and around her, and Batman yanked her towards him. He reared back with his other fist, then delivered a crushing blow to the woman's face. She shimmered back to full visibility as she fell listlessly to the ground, blood gushing from her broken nose.

Superman slumped forward and took in huge gulps of air as the forcefield disappeared.

There was an anguished scream from somewhere behind them. Batman whirled around tapped his cowl again, retracting the lenses. He saw the crazed, semi-cohesive form of Reed Richards scrambling toward him, his face contorted in inhuman rage at the sight of his injured wife. He raced at Batman so quickly that he was a jumble of limbs, barely holding himself together.

As the blob that was Reed Richards reached him, Batman once again reached for his utility belt. He pulled out a pair of metal clasps and slapped them onto each of Reed Richards' wrists. They activated, and small jets built into the sides of the clasps engaged, taking off in two different directions. One of Reed's arms wrapped around a lamppost, a street sign, a traffic light. The other wrapped around a tree, a fire escape, a mailbox. Reed looked back and forth at his arms in confusion. Then, angrier than ever, he stretched his neck out and began biting at Batman's throat. Batman grabbed one more clasp from his belt and slapped it onto Reed's neck like a collar. He activated it and Reed's head launched up toward the stratosphere. His head flew higher, higher, higher, until the air was so thin that Reed passed out. The jets shut off immediately, sending Reed's unconscious head back toward Earth. It smacked into the top of the Chrysler building. Reed's limp body was stretched out like a parachute and draped over three city blocks.

Lastly, the monstrous Thing came running toward Batman, roaring at the top of his lungs. He put his head down and charged like a wild rhinoceros.

Batman launched a small silver disc at the Thing. It hit the rocky brute right in the chest. It popped open with a small, simple "poof" – and a white, epoxy-like substance quickly oozed out of the disc, filling in the cracks between each of the craggy indentations across the Thing's entire body. He slowed, looking down at his body with a mix of surprise and confusion. The goo filled in every nook and cranny of the Thing's monstrous hide and quickly solidified. The brute was rendered completely immobile. He roared even louder in frustration.

Batman lobbed a pellet into the Thing's mouth as he gave out another furious roar. There was a quiet explosion from deep inside the Thing's body, and a puff of gray smoke seeped out of his mouth and nostrils. He blinked a few times, then lost consciousness, still standing frozen in place like a statue.

A JLA Javelin descended from the sky. It spun around, and the cargo hatch at the back of the vehicle opened up. Spider-Man, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Zatanna, John Constantine, and Etrigan the Demon stood poised and ready for battle.

Instead of leaping into the fray, they just stood and stared in amazement at the sight before them. A huge black metal box that had incapsulated the Human Torch. An unconscious and bleeding Sue. Reed Richards, super-strung-out across the downtown area. An immobilized Thing. Superman, on the ground and catching his breath. And Batman, looking up at them with a slight smirk.

"Too slow," Batman said simply.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

The Helicarrier continued to fly over the Atlantic Ocean.

A few levels below the main deck, two SHIELD security guards led Lex Luthor down a narrow corridor to a simple holding cell. It was much smaller than where he'd been sequestered on the Watchtower satellite. Tony Stark walked a few paces behind, back in his Armani suit rather than his suit of armor.

"Really, Tony?" Lex scoffed. "You're going to crate me again like the family dog? I can be useful to you. Locking me up is a waste of—"

"Can it," Tony snapped, cutting him off.

The guards ushered Lex into the cell. Tony made a few quick taps on the screen of his ultra-thin tablet and the cell door slammed shut. There was an electronic buzz as the door locked.

"Reed Richards was one of the most brilliant men in the entire world," Tony continued. "He was also a friend. If I find out that you had anything to do with turning him and his family into a bunch of rejects from the Walking Dead, being crated like a dog is going to seem like a god damn vacation compared to where we'll send you next."

Lex looked down uncomfortably, unable to meet Tony's accusatory gaze.

"Yeah," Tony said. "That's what I thought."

Tony Stark turned and walked away.

The end of the hallway opened up into a large, wide-open command center with numerous computer banks, navigation systems, and communication stations. It was being run by a small but effective crew of SHIELD and ARGUS agents who had been given special Justice League security clearance.

There was a whoosh of air, and Bart Allen appeared in front of Tony. He was sporting wind pants and a hoodie rather than his Flash costume.

"Mister Stark," Bart said with a quick, polite nod. "Can I have a sec?"

"Little busy right now, kid," Tony said, checking some stats on his tablet. "Everything all right?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I was running evac for the civilians caught up in that fight in NYC. Got everyone to safety, but I was feeling a little sluggish. Well, by my standards at least." He turned around, leaned forward, and pulled up the back of his hoodie. All up and down his spine were intricate interwoven stands of metallic circuitry. "Any chance I could have overclocked my hardware?"

One year earlier, the mercenary known as Bane had broken Bart's back over his knee during a brutal melee between the Justice League and the newly-formed Suicide Squad. There was a time when it seemed that Bart would never walk again, let alone get back to super-speeding. However, Tony Stark had come to the rescue, developing revolutionary tech that restored Bart's spine and made him as good as new.

"That tech should be sending signals to your synapses without any delay, even for a speedster like yourself," Tony replied. He typed in a few commands on the tablet. "Tell you what – head over to Med Bay 37. I'm queuing JARVIS up to run a full diagnostic. If there's anything slowing you down, he'll get you back in ship shape. All right, kid?"

Bart pulled his shirt back down and turned back towards Tony. "Gracias, Mister S!" In a blink of an eye, he was rushing off toward the Med Bay.

Tony stuck the tablet into his inner jacket pocket and continued on his way. He wasn't looking forward to the next stop on his to-do list.

At the other end of the command center was an unmarked door. He pushed it open and entered a small conference room. Inside were Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman. Superman's costume was singed and dirty from the fight with the Fantastic Four, and his cape was completely gone. Spider-Man was crouched down atop a table in the middle of the room with his arms around his knees. Batman stood in the shadows in the corner.

"All right, I'll be the one to say it," Tony said after an awkward few moments of silence. "What the hell happened out there?"

"Was that really the Fantastic Four?" Spider-Man asked.

"We don't know yet," Tony replied. "Sure looked like them, but, could have been clones, robots, alternate-universe doppelgangers… you know how these things go. Hank McCoy is taking them to the Watchtower to examine them. We're trying to pull Bruce Banner in too, but he's been harder to pin down since he started running with that new Pantheon group."

Tony started walking towards Batman.

"Here's what I don't get, though" Tony said, shrugging. "You – Batman, is it? You come swooping in, and, in a matter of about 120 seconds, manage to incapacitate all four of them. Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm – assuming it really was them – you took them all down like it was nothing. And in very specific ways, with very specific tech." He stopped about a foot away from Batman. "As if you'd planned for it."

Batman didn't say a word.

"But as far as we all knew up until this morning, the Fantastic Four were dead. So, if you did have a plan to take them out, you must have had it for a long time now, no?" Tony continued.

Again, Batman didn't respond.

"You going to talk at some point or am I doing a soliloquy here?"

"What's your point?" Batman growled.

Tony turned and looked at Superman and Spider-Man. "Really? He's going to do the voice thing, even when it's just us?" He turned back to Batman. "My point, Daddy Long Ears, is who else do you have contingency plans for?"

There was a long beat.

"All of you," Batman finally replied.

Spider-Man leapt off the table. "What?!" he exclaimed, rushing at Batman. Superman sped in front of Spider-Man and placed a gentle hand on his chest, holding him back.

"Do you mean to tell me…" Superman said, his voice calm but measured. "You have plans to take down everyone in the Justice League, the way that you took down the Fantastic Four today?"

"Yes," Batman replied, matter-of-factly.

"You've got some nerve," Spider-Man said, fists clenched. "We don't even know who you are!" He looked at Superman. "Can you x-ray his mask?"

"It's lined with lead," Superman replied.

"Why is your mask lined with lead?" Spider-Man asked.

"Why do you think?" Batman snarled.

"This is not acceptable," Superman said, taking a few steps toward Batman as well. "You absolutely cannot have countermeasures in place to take action against members of this team, and still expect to be a part of this team. You need to turn over any information that you have immediately."

"My countermeasures saved your life today, Superman," Batman reminded him. "This is a group of the most powerful beings the world has ever known. Any of you could be turned against humanity. The reason I have these plans in place is for scenarios exactly like what happened today."

Superman folded his arms across his chest. "How exactly would you stop me?" he said. "A kryptonite bullet?"

"No," Batman said, shaking his head. "No bullets. I don't like guns."

"And what about me?" Spider-Man said, barely keeping his anger in check. He stepped forward and shoved Batman. Spider-Man's trust of the Dark Knight had been tenuous at best, ever since they fought outside FAO Schwarz a little over a year ago. "Do you have plans to take me down, too?"

"Of course I do," Batman replied. "It's not that difficult."

"Oh, wanna bet?" Spider-Man snapped, grabbing Batman by the corners of his cape near his cowl.

Batman grabbed Spider-Man by his uniform near his chest. "Do you really want to do this right now?" Batman growled. "This is what you're focusing on? Fighting me? Look at the bigger picture! If that was the Fantastic Four, someone or something did that to them. Who? How? And what's their next move? That's what we should be trying to figure out. Not fighting each other."

"Bat-Guy is right," Tony admitted. "We need to figure out what we're up against. And Lex knows more than he's telling us."

Spider-Man slowly released his grip on Batman.

"Lex said there was a threat coming," Superman said. "And that that threat was what led him to try to assemble the Infinity Gems. This has to be related to that."

"Tony," Spider-Man said, remembering something. "When we first arrived at the Helicarrier, you said you wanted to keep Lex moving. Why?"

"Lex Luthor is here?" Batman asked.

"What, finally something you didn't prepare for?" Stark replied.

"You didn't answer the question," Superman chimed in. "Why did you bring Lex here, Tony?"

Tony took a step back and sighed. "When I scanned Luthor's armor at the Watchtower I found something. A homing device, sending out a beacon with his location to parties unknown. I killed the transmitter, and everything else in his armor besides life-support functions. There's no way it's still transmitting anything but I still thought it would be in our best interest to keep moving him around if someone's trying to track him down."

"Stark, even if you killed that transmitter, that means whoever was tracking him before knows the location of the Watchtower," Superman replied, concerned.

"Oh, please," Tony replied, taking the tablet out of his jacket again. "I changed the Watchtower's geosynchronous orbit pattern 17 times in the last hour alone. Plus, it's equipped with state-of-the-art stealth cloaking technology. Even if someone knew where it was earlier this morning, they couldn't find it now if you bet them a dollar and a donut."

"Who was tracking him?" Batman snarled.

"Don't know yet," Tony replied, tucking the tablet back in his jacket. "The signal was being bounced off an array of satellites that masked the—"

"You don't know?" Batman bellowed. He lunged at Tony, grabbed him by the lapels of his suit jacket and shoved him up against the wall. "You brought a madman with a tracking device onto the Watchtower, and onto this Helicarrier, and you have no idea who's trying to track him? And you're worried about ME sabotaging this team?"

"Hey! Easy, Bat Breath!" Tony yelled. "I've been a little busy, if you haven't noticed!"

Spider-Man grabbed Batman's arm. "That's enough! Let him go!"

Batman let go of Tony Stark and threw his arm around Spider-Man's neck, placing him in a headlock.

"You want to know how I'd beat you, Spider-Man?" Batman growled. He shoved his wrist inches from Spider-Man's face. From a small tube embedded in his gauntlet, Batman sprayed a hazy green mist directly at Spider-Man. He coughed and gasped as the gas filled his mouth and nostrils beneath his mask. Batman released the choke hold and Spider-Man fell to his knees.

Spidey waved his hands in front of his face to dispel the gas, still coughing and gagging. Suddenly, a familiar intense tingling began to rage like a blaring alarm at the base of his skull.

"Wh-what's happening?" he mumbled.

As his vision cleared, he saw a terrifying sight. The Green Goblin. Doctor Octopus. Venom. Sandman. They were standing over the dead bodies of Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy and Aunt May. Explosions were going off all around him, and the whole New York City skyline was on fire. His spider sense was going off more intensely than it ever had before.

Just then, a powerful, crushing blow to his right eye knocked him straight to the ground like a sack of potatoes, nearly rendering him unconscious.

"Jonathan Crane's fear gas," he heard Batman's voice say. "It's sending your spider-sense into overdrive, essentially neutralizing it so you can't tell where my attacks are coming from."

Spider-Man was still seeing the horrifying vision of his loved ones dead at the hands of his worst enemies, but he could hear the conference room around him clearly. He heard the familiar super-speed whoosh of his old friend Superman, speeding over to pull Batman away from him.

"That's enough!" he heard Superman yell, and the sounds of a brief scuffle as Superman was no doubt shoving Batman away. Then, much closer and softer, he heard the same voice say, "Are you okay? Pete, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

Gradually the conference room started to come back into view, and Spider-Man could see Superman's face. But, his spider-sense was still going haywire, overreacting to the spike of fear toxin.

Even as his vision struggled to return to normal, he saw glimpses of old, haunting memories in every corner of the room. He saw the Green Goblin dropping Mary Jane Watson and a cable car full of innocent civilians from atop the Queensboro Bridge. He watched in anguish as Uncle Ben died on the sidewalk right in front of him. He choked back tears as he experienced pulling Chloe Sullivan's lifeless body from New York Harbor. He knew that these were only memories being dredged up by the fear toxin, and that they were not actually happening to him right now. It made the agonizing experience no easier.

"Are you okay?" Superman said again.

"I… I'm not sure yet," Spider-Man said, trembling. He reached up and tenderly touched his right eye. Even with his mask on, he could tell it was going to be badly bruised underneath.

Superman stood up and turned around to face Batman. "What the hell were you thinki—huh? Where did he go?"

Batman was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, shit," Tony cursed. Instinctively, he patted his jacket pocket, only to find that it was empty. His tablet was gone. Batman's sudden outburst had been a distraction.

Tony Stark burst out of the conference room and sprinted across the command center. He rounded the corner, already certain of what he would see. At the end of the next long corridor, Lex Luthor's cell door was wide open. The cell was empty.

The JLA Javelin departed from the Helicarrier's flight deck and shot out over the ocean. Two occupants were on board: Batman and Lex Luthor.

Batman pulled back on the yoke, raising the nose of the plane and starting its ascent. Then he jammed a batarang between the yoke and the control panel, leaving the yoke stuck in its pulled-back position. He turned to face the cowering Lex Luthor.

"Wh-what do you want from me?" Lex asked, backing away from Batman. "Why'd you drag me out of my cell?"

"Who are you working with?" Batman snarled menacingly.

"I'm not working with anyone," Lex said. "I'm working with you guys, with the Justice League. It's like I told Superman and Spider-Man, let's work together, let's help each other."

Batman began walking very slowly toward Luthor.

"Who was tracking you?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. There was a tracker in your suit. Who's keeping tabs on you?"

"I don't know!" Lex said, backing away from the encroaching Dark Knight. "There wasn't a tracker in my suit. I didn't put it there, I don't know anything about it, there wasn't one."

"Which is it? There wasn't one, or you didn't put it there?" Batman asked.

Batman slapped a button on the wall. The cargo bay door at the back of the plane slowly began to creak open.

"What are you doing?" Lex asked.

"Who are you working with?" Batman asked again.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not working with anyone!"

"Wrong answer."

Lex turned and looked behind him. As the bay door opened he could see how high up they were, and how quickly they were rising up higher and higher above the ocean below.

"Oh God!" Lex was beginning to get truly scared now. "Listen, you don't have to do this. Let's just talk. I'm willing to help you guys, really. I tried to tell Tony, I want to—"

"Who. Are. You. Working. With." Batman said each word one at a time, marking each with another step toward the cowering villain.

"Look, Batman, I'm telling you, I'm not working with anyone, I'm here alone. I was looking for the Infinity Gems. Superman and Spider-Man found me. I want to work with you now, I want to help you. Just take me back to the Helicarrier and we can—"

Batman punched the wall next to Luthor's head to shut him up. They had backed up almost to the edge of the cargo bay now. Lex was struggling to keep his balance as the ship continued its sharp ascent.

"This is your last chance," Batman said. "I want a name."

"Don't do this," Lex said. "Stark disabled the jetpacks in my suit, I can't fly! The fall will kill me!"

"I know," Batman remarked. He pulled Tony's tablet from behind his back. Then he hurled it against the wall, shattering it.

Lex clutched at the wall, coming perilously close to losing his balance.

"Please don't do this," Lex begged.

"Give me a name."

"I don't know what you're—"

Batman didn't even let Lex finish the sentence. With a sudden kick to the stomach, Batman sent Lex flying out the back of the plane.

He screamed in pure terror, flailing his arms around as if he was trying to grab onto the very air itself.

Batman smoothly pulled his grappling gun from his utility belt and fired it. A rope shot out and snagged Lex's left leg, sharply stopping his descent. Batman tied the other end of the rope around a handle on the wall of the ship's cargo bay.

Lex was spinning around in the air, gasping for breath as he dangled precariously from the back of the still-ascending Javelin.

"Help!" Lex screamed. "Help me, please! Don't kill me!"

Batman pulled another batarang from his belt. He knelt down at the edge of the cargo bay door and pressed the razor-sharp edge of the projectile against the thin line that suspended Lex from the long, long drop to the waters below.

"I'm going to ask you one last time," Batman yelled. "Give me a name."

"Please!" Lex yelled. "Please don't! I'll tell you everything! Just pull me up!"

Batman raised the batarang up above his head, prepared to bring it down hard and sever the rope.

"Ra's Al Ghul!" Lex finally yelled. "I'm working with Ra's Al Ghul!"

Batman stopped, frozen by the sound of a name he did not expect to hear.

"Ra's Al Ghul is dead!" Batman replied.

"He's not!" Lex yelled back. "I swear on my mother's grave, he's not dead! He's the one who was tracking my suit!"

Batman paused for a long time. Then he slowly stood up. He turned and walked away from the edge of the bay door.

"Wait! Don't leave me here! Batman!" Lex called.

Without so much as a glance over his shoulder, Batman hurled the batarang at the rope behind him, severing it and sending Lex plunging down through the sky toward the ocean.

"HELP!" Lex screamed, absolutely terrified for his life. "Clark!" he yelled, calling out the name of the one person he could think of that might possibly save him. "Clark!"

With a whoosh and a red-and-blue blur of air, a flying streak caught Lex mid-fall. Lex and this seeming force of nature shot straight back up to the Javelin and in through the cargo bay door.

Superman dumped Lex unceremoniously on the floor. Lex's eyes were wide as he curled up on the floor and gasped for breath.

"Are you crazy?" Superman shouted.

"I got us a name," Batman replied.

"You could have killed him!" Superman shot back.

"I knew you would save him," Batman answered.

"There's no way you could have known that!"

"We were well within the range of your super-hearing, and you can fly faster than he can free-fall. And I knew he'd call out your name."

Superman was stunned.

"You knew he'd…?" Superman slowly repeated. The name Lex had called was Clark. Did Batman know his secret?

Before Superman could react to this news, Batman walked back over to Lex. He stood before the bald miscreant and stared down menacingly at him.

"Now, Mister Luthor," Batman said. "You're going to tell us everything."

Lex nodded, still trying to catch his breath. "Yes," he said. "No more secrets. I promise."

"Good," Batman said. "Now… are you and Ra's working with anyone else?"


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was pitch black inside CADMUS Labs as Dr. Miles Warren and the woman who was calling herself Nellie Bly crept inside. Dr. Warren waved a small cardkey in front of a sensor on the wall, and old florescent lights clicked on, one after the other, illuminating the dank hallway in increments.

"What have you been working on here, doc, if you haven't been working for Lex Luthor anymore?" Nellie asked.

"I could bore you with the proclivities of a doddering old man, but I don't think it would be a good use of either of our time, Miss Sullivan," Warren replied dismissively.

She cocked the gun and pointed it at his head.

"Call me Miss Sullivan again and the hallway gets a new paintjob," she hissed. "It's Nellie, or Miss Bly, thank you very much."

"Right, right, right," he said, raising his hands in apology. "I keep forgetting. Sorry."

They walked down the hallway past many closed, locked, uninviting doors. The whole building looked and smelled like no one but Warren had been there in months. Cobwebs adorned every corner. It had the unsettling vibe of a haunted house.

At length they came to a large steel security door that had a biometric scanner and a numeric keypad. Warren punched in a code on the keypad and then rested his thumb on the scanner. The electronic reader buzzed in protest a few times and Warren had to adjust his thumb placement before he finally received the approving "bing" of acceptance. The security door creaked open.

They entered a dimly lit lab that was in a state of disarray. Notes, printouts, and file folders were stacked on every flat surface in the room. Computer screens that looked decades old had been running so long that images were burned into them. There was a cold cup of coffee sitting on a filing cabinet that Dr. Warren randomly picked up and took a sip from. He obviously felt right at home in this unorganized mess.

"Now, as I said before, Miss – ah – Miss Bly," Warren said. "Dr. Hugo Strange was the one who handled the mental conditioning of all of the clones. I have a passing understanding of his process, but, my expertise lay in the genetic engineering components of the program."

"Then give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you and go track down Hugo Strange," Bly said, flatly.

Dr. Warren cringed. "Please! Must you threaten my life every few seconds? I've done nothing but cooperate with you!" he cried. "I'm familiar enough with Hugo's work that I'm sure I can help you, provided we can find his notes."

"And where would those be?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the stacks of random papers scattered all over the room.

"Let's try through here," he said, pointing towards another door at the far end of the lab.

They crossed the lab, stepping around cardboard boxes full of printouts and miscellaneous computer parts.

Warren pushed the door open and he and Nellie stepped through. The room was completely dark.

"Oh," Warren muttered. "I think the light switch is back out here." He stepped back through the door…

…then slammed it shut and locked it.

"Warren!" Nellie yelled. "What the hell?"

The lights in the room clicked on. Nellie Bly found herself in a large white room that was completely empty, with the exception of an operating table directly in the center. The table had straps for the arms and legs that were to be used as restraints. The floor around the table had dark red stains on it.

One of the walls had a large, thick window into the next room that seemed to be used for observation. She could see Dr. Warren peering in at her through the window.

She pointed the gun at Dr. Warren.

"Unlock that door and let me out of here right fucking now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Dr. Warren replied over an intercom. "You can empty every bullet in that gun at the window if you like. The glass is bulletproof."

She slowly lowered the gun, her eyes twitching with anger. She blinked a few times, trying to blink away the familiar sensation of blood pooling in the corners of her eyes.

It was only then that she noticed that Dr. Warren was not alone in the other room. Another figure, a taller man, took a few slow steps toward the glass as well. He was obscured in shadow, so Nellie could not see his face.

"What do we have here, Dr. Warren?" the man asked.

"A very pleasant surprise, sir," Dr. Warren replied. "She's one of Lex's clones, just like you. As you can see from her current condition, she's also afflicted with the same symptoms of premature aging and ocular hemorrhaging. We've gone through all of the other specimens – this gives us a new opportunity to continue our experiments."

The other man laughed. "Excellent! I'd consider this divine intervention, if I actually believed in God."

"Who's there?" Nellie shouted. "Show yourself!"

"How rude of me," the man replied. He took a few steps forward into the light. Much like Bly, he appeared as if he had aged before his time. His brown hair had patches of gray around the temples, and his chiseled features sported unnatural wrinkles. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a sinister smile. "My name is Norman Osborn."

.

Elsewhere. The SHIELD Helicarrier.

Lex Luthor sat on one side of a long table in the middle of another one of the Helicarrier's many conference rooms. Across from him on the other side of the table sat Spider-Man, Tony Stark, and Dr. Stephen Strange. Batman stood in the corner.

Lex nodded toward Batman.

"He doesn't like to sit?"

Spider-Man shook his head. "Nah."

Batman casually cracked his knuckles. Lex shrank back in his chair just a little.

The conference room door opened and Superman walked in. He was sporting his full costume including cape again, rather than the battle-damaged one he'd been wearing after the fight with the Fantastic Four.

"You had a spare, I see," Tony Stark commented.

"I may not have as many suits as you, Stark, but I have some extras in case of emergency," Superman replied. Then he looked at Lex. "You ready to talk?"

"Yes," Lex said, sincerely. "All of you deserve to hear the truth. And I'm ready to tell it."

"Good," Superman replied. "Because that's exactly what we're going to hear."

Superman stepped aside, and one more member of the Justice League entered the room.

When Lex saw who it was, and what she was carrying, his eyes went wide and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Wonder Woman walked into the room and gave a slight smile as she set her golden lasso on the table.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

 **THREE YEARS AGO. THE BAXTER BUILDING.**

Lex Luthor strolled into Reed Richards' laboratory wearing a long black trench coat and carrying a satchel-like bag over his left shoulder. He looked around with admiration at the towering hi-tech machinery that covered nearly every square foot of the expansive workspace. He gave a low whistle of approval.

Reed Richards' head darted around from behind a control panel, his elastic neck craning around the corner to see who had entered the lab.

"Ah! Mister Luthor. Please, come in," Reed said, his arm appearing from somewhere else in the room to shake Lex's hand.

Lex accepted the handshake, although he was a little disoriented due to not knowing exactly where the rest of Mister Fantastic's body was currently located. "Impressive setup you have here, Doc," Lex said. "And please, call me Lex."

"Very well then, Lex," Reed replied. Finally the rest of Reed's body came walking around the corner, and his neck and right arm gradually retracted back into their natural places. "What exactly can I do for you? Your message was very intriguing."

"Hey, Stretcho!" a baritone voice bellowed from somewhere else in the lab before Lex could answer. "Did ya friggin' forget about me?"

Reed smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," Reed said to Lex. "I was in the middle of something with Ben." Then, he called back to his colleague, "Just a moment, Benjamin!" Reed motioned for Lex to follow him deeper into the lab.

They rounded a corner and Lex's eyes went wide. Benjamin J. Grimm, also known as the Thing, was hooked up to a giant apparatus that seemed to be bombarding him with an intensely bright yellow light.

"You wasn't just gonna leave me like this all day, was ya?" Ben asked, squinting. Then, noticing Lex, he asked, "Who's the bald bozo?"

"Benjamin!" a female voice snapped with disapproval. Lex turned to see Susan Storm-Richards standing next to a computer console, typing in some calculations as she monitored a series of screens. "After Reed finds a cure for your physical condition, he should work on a cure for your manners next," she scolded.

"Sorry," Ben grumbled. "Being hooked up to this doohickey all day ain't exactly doing wonders for my disposition."

"I'm working on a cure for the physical mutation Ben underwent when we were bombarded by cosmic rays," Reed explained to Lex as he made a few adjustments to the machinery surrounding Ben. "While that interstellar event imbued Susan, Johnny, and myself with fantastic powers, it relegated Ben to the monstrous form that earned him the moniker of 'the Thing.'"

"Don't sugar coat it or nothin', Stretch," Ben grunted.

"Finding a way to reverse his physical condition has proven to be more difficult than I would have expected," Reed admitted. "But, on the plus side, I believe I've incidentally discovered cures for diabetes, Crohn's disease, and the common cold."

Lex smiled. "I can see you're very busy," he said, nodding. "I'll come back another time."

"Nonsense," Susan said, stepping toward Lex with her laptop in her hand. She was strikingly beautiful, and her eyes had such a gentle and intelligent kindness to them. "Can I offer you something to drink, Lex? Coffee, tea, mineral water?"

"Got anything stronger?" Lex said with a chuckle and a wry smile.

Susan grinned knowingly. "H.E.R.B.I.E.?" Susan spoke into a microphone on her laptop. "Can you please bring up a bottle of brandy from the wine cellar?"

"Oh!" Lex said in surprise. "I was kidding. You really don't have to—"

"Right away, Mrs. Richards," a computerized voice responded over an intercom.

After only a few moments, a panel in the wall opened up and a small animatronic robot emerged. The robot carried a tray with a bottle of brandy and two snifters. It set the tray down and promptly poured some brandy into the snifters, then handed them to Lex and Sue.

"Thank you, H.E.R.B.I.E.," Susan said to the robot. Then she raised her glass to Lex. As he raised his in return, Sue couldn't help but notice the bright green ring he wore on his right hand. "That's a remarkable ring," she commented. "Is that an emerald?"

"Something like that," Lex replied with a sly smile. "Cheers," he said, clinking his snifter against hers. He took a slow sip. "Mmm. This is excellent," he commented.

"La Vielle Reserve," Sue acknowledged. "Thanks for giving me an excuse to drink it. Reed's not a fan."

Lex was taken aback by her exquisite taste as well as her hospitality.

"All right Ben, I think that's enough for today," Reed said, gradually powering down the device. "I don't want to overload your cells. We'll have another go at it tomorrow."

The yellow light abated as Ben removed his arms and legs from the restraints that he had been hooked up to. "Thanks for the tanning bed session, Stretch," he joked. "H.E.R.B.I.E., bring me a damn Bud Light, will ya?"

"Hey, Reed! Sue!" a new voice called out. Johnny Storm entered the lab, wearing sunglasses, an expensive looking blazer and a button-down shirt. "Who has the keys to the Fantasticar?"

"Why do you need them?" Sue called back incredulously.

Johnny slipped off the shades as he approached the group. "I have a date with Amanda tonight, and I really want to make a good impression. She's a classy lady."

"Then what's she goin' out with you for?" Ben Grimm asked. He ducked the fireball that Johnny lobbed at his head.

"The Fantasticar isn't used for dates, Johnny," Reed said disapprovingly. "You know it's reserved for emergencies only."

"Ugh, you guys are the definition of lame," Johnny sighed.

"Here," Lex chimed in. He tossed Johnny a set of keys. "Take my Mercedes. It'll make a great first impression, and it's a bit classier than your… what's it called? Fantastic Car?"

"Are you serious?" Johnny's jaw dropped.

"What can I say," Lex shrugged. "You remind me of myself at your age." Lex couldn't help but remember his Club Zero days, and another girl by the name of Amanda. "Just don't scorch the interior. Besides, I know where you live," Lex added with a wink.

"Dude, you are the coolest!" Johnny exclaimed. He gave Lex a quick dude-bro hug and then practically sprinted back out of the lab.

"Hey!" the Thing called, following after him. "Johnny! You think you could give me a ride to the Yancy Street Mini-Mart? Hey, get back here, Matchstick Head!" As Ben followed Johnny, H.E.R.B.I.E. followed behind Ben with a bottle of Bud Light.

Reed turned his attention back to Lex. "That was very generous of you, Mister Luthor. And, just for the record, H.E.R.B.I.E. is my fully automated A.I. laboratory assistant, lest my family give you the impression his sole function is fetching alcoholic beverages," he said with a grin. "Regardless, I'm sure you didn't stop by just for refreshments and to lend my brother-in-law an expensive vehicle. How can I help you, Lex?"

Lex took another sip of brandy, then raised his glass and nodded in acknowledgement to Sue for the drink before carefully setting the snifter down on a nearby countertop.

"As you know, Tony Stark and I are working on a rather unique model prison for housing dangerous metahumans," Lex began.

"Yes, Project 42," Reed replied. "A prison that exists in a state of limbo, half in our world and half in the negative zone, so that it's always slightly out of phase with reality. It's a remarkable concept, but I'm afraid I think I know what you're going to ask me, and Tony has already consulted me on this. There's no safe way to teleport the prisoners into the prison, or security personnel in and out of the prison, while it's in its half-materialized state. Teleportation in and of itself is extremely risky, Mister Luthor. Breaking a living being down to its essential atoms in order to move them at the speed of light to another location, without killing them, poses enough of a challenge, and that's without the added complication of sending them to a plane that's already split between two dimensions."

Lex smiled and reached into the satchel he was carrying. "I understand all of that, Doctor Richards," he said. "And I think I may be able to offer a key component that we've been missing all this time." Lex produced from the bag a small leather-bound journal. "Tell me, Reed. Have you ever heard of Doctor Virgil Swann?"

"Of course," Reed replied. "Doctor Swann was a brilliant man. I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but I followed his work closely. He was a pioneer in the field of global communication. It was a tragedy that he was taken from us so soon."

"This is just one of many journals that were… recovered from his estate," Lex said cautiously. In reality, the journal had most recently been in possession of Lex's father, Lionel. When Lex uncovered the truth about the Veritas society and murdered Lionel, he'd managed to obtain many artifacts that his father had amassed from that secret society. This journal was one of them. Lex flipped through the journal to a specific page that contained a hand-drawn sketch of something that looked like a very complex box of circuitry. He held the journal up and showed it to Reed. "This is called a Mother Box," Lex explained. "I believe its origin to be otherworldly. I don't know where or how Dr. Swann stumbled on this, but I do believe he succeeded in his goals of extraterrestrial communication in his lifetime."

Reed carefully took the journal from Lex and studied the drawing, as well as the calculations and figures that were scribbled in the margins. "Fascinating," Reed whispered.

Susan peeked over his shoulder. "What is it, dear?"

"This… if it's authentic… would change everything," Reed said quietly. "These calculations propose a method whereby the box would rip a hole in the fabric of space-time that a person could conceivably step right through. Rather than transporting the atoms of the individual, it would form a sort of… a sort of…" Reed stumbled to find the right words.

"Swann referred to it as a 'Boom Tube,'" Lex offered.

"Yes," Reed mused. "A Boom Tube. A rather simplistic name, but quite apt, I suppose. Punching a hole in space-time like that would have a loud auditory result."

"Is this helpful in figuring out how to transport people in and out of the prison?" Lex asked.

Reed sighed. "It's certainly possible, if the math checks out. And, at a cursory examination, I believe it does. It would take months of careful testing to try to create something like this. If I actually had one of these theoretical Mother Boxes, it would be a different story." He paused and looked up at Lex. "It IS theoretical… isn't it, Lex?"

Lex shrugged. "I don't know. Swann's notebooks are filled with things like this. How much of it is science fiction and how much of it is science fact, I'd rely on people like you and Tony to determine."

Sue carefully took the journal from Reed and flipped through the pages, curious to see what else was in the notebook.

"What's this?" she asked, stopping on a page filled with more cryptic calculations and some disturbing sketches of what looked like zombies in Egyptian garb.

"Ah," Lex replied, picking up the brandy snifter once again. "That page caught my eye as well, Mrs. Richards," he said with a dark twinkle in his eye. "It refers to something called The Anti-Life Equation. The ancient Egyptians believed there was a state of mind that could be imposed on human beings to strip them of their own will, and reduce them to a state of complete and total obedience to their master."

Sue looked up at Lex, raising an eyebrow with skepticism.

Lex shrugged. "Like I said. Science fiction, or science fact?"

He took a slow sip of brandy. As he did, Reed noticed something that seemed to trouble him. Reed reached out a hand and grabbed Lex by the wrist, startling him.

"I'm sorry, Mister Luthor, but may I see your hand?"

Reed took a closer look at Lex's right hand. The skin near his ring finger was rough, irritated, and seemed to actually have a slight greenish hue. The condition seemed to be spreading away from the ring, causing Lex's veins to pulsate intensely beneath his flesh.

"Mister Luthor," Reed said solemnly. "I'd strongly advise you to stop wearing that ring immediately."

.

 **THREE MONTHS LATER. "THE FERRY," NEW YORK CITY.**

Lex stood at the window and gazed out across the East River at Ryker's Island. The old jail complex had been torn down, and what would soon be the new N-Zone Prison was nearing completion of its construction. The only thing that remained was to finalize the process of transportation into the prison once it was in limbo. The building Lex currently stood in had earned the nickname "The Ferry," as it would provide the only access to the prison.

It was nearly 2:00 a.m. and Lex was the only one in the building. He had unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt and loosened his necktie. He had a glass of brandy in his hand. La Vielle Reserve, same as Susan Richards had shared with him. He'd like it so much he ordered a dozen cases of it.

In the center of the room was a huge platform that would eventually serve as the main means of teleporting prisoners and security personnel into the prison. It was powered by a giant recreation of a Mother Box, at least as close as Reed could possibly approximate it, which apparently was not close enough. The calculations still weren't coming out right, which meant they'd been unable to activate a Boom Tube. At this point, all they had were several billion dollars' worth of technology that, to date, did absolutely nothing.

The Fantastic Four had been called away to mediate a civil war between Arthur Curry and Prince Namor over rightful control of Atlantis. Although the peace talks were reportedly going well, Lex wasn't sure when Reed would be able to return to work and finish the project. Until then, the N-Zone Prison was on hold.

Lex took another sip of brandy as he stared out the window. He opened and closed his right hand slowly. It absolutely ached. He had waited far too long to heed Reed's advice and stop wearing the kryptonite ring. His physician, Dr. Gretchen Kelly, suspected he may have radiation poisoning and that it may be spreading to his bloodstream. She'd been urging him to have blood tests done but he'd been putting them off. He knew he wasn't going to be able to put things off much longer. The pain in his hand was starting to spread up his arm, and it was constant. He took a much bigger sip and closed his eyes.

BOOM!

The sudden blast behind Lex nearly knocked him off his feet. He spun around in amazement, mouth open wide.

There, in the middle of the room, was a giant yellow hole in the very fabric of space.

A Boom Tube.

"How…?!" Lex muttered. They hadn't been able to achieve one in all their months of work, and now one just appeared?

Just as suddenly, two demonic-looking creatures shot out of the portal. They flew on bat-like wings, and cried out with an unholy and terrifying screech. Lex dropped his glass and ran for his life. His ever-analytical mind was churning for an explanation. Had the brandy been drugged? Was he somehow exposed to fear toxin? Had someone gotten ahold of Quentin Beck's holo-cube technology?

The parademons' talons dug into his shoulders. He screamed in anguish. These were not holograms or hallucinations. The demons dragged Lex, literally kicking and screaming, through the portal.

On the other side was a world that looked like a literal hell. The sky was red and filled with putrid black smoke. Fire pits burned all around him. Slaves dressed in tattered rags toiled away at meaningless labor, breaking rocks like a jail yard chain gang. The demons hauled Lex up a long and winding stone staircase. Lex twisted and kicked and tried to get away from them, to absolutely no avail.

Finally they reached the apex of their ascent. They dropped Lex on the cold, hard, dirty floor of some kind of balcony, a vantage point overlooking the world of despair below.

Lex looked up. A huge, menacing figure who radiated pure evil stood towering over him. The monstrosity's skin looked like it was carved out of granite. His eyes glowed red like embers from a dying fire. And when he spoke, it sounded like the voice of the devil himself.

"You. Human. You are attempting to build a Mother Box. Why?"

"Who… who are you?" Lex stammered.

"You do not question me," the giant snarled. "Why are you building a Mother Box?"

"I…" Lex paused. "I must be getting close. If you're aware of what I'm doing. If you're bringing me here. Then I must be close to success. Am I right?"

The monster reached down and grabbed Lex by his throat, then lifted him right off the ground with one hand.

"I will ask you one more time, insect," the creature said. "And then I will remove your flesh and feed it to my Warhounds. Why are you building a Mother Box?"

"Teleportation," Lex squeaked out. "We need… teleportation…" he choked and spat. "The… Negative… Zone…"

"Teleportation?" the monster scoffed. "You're building a Mother Box simply for transportation purposes? Such simple-minded creatures." He dropped Lex, who collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and holding his throat. "You have proven to be a mild annoyance, human. I will have my servants torture you to death for their amusement."

"Wait…" Lex said, slowly piecing things together in his mind. The Veritas Journal. The one with the sketches of the Mother Box, and the history of the Anti-Life Equation. There had been more to it. Another planet that Dr. Swann had somehow learned of. A dystopian world full of misery and despair. A world called Apokolips, that was ruled by… "Darkseid," Lex whispered.

The giant paused. "You dare speak my name?"

"I know who you are and I know where I am," Lex said. "You're Darkseid. This is the planet Apokolips. And you…" Lex paused dramatically. "You seek the Anti-Life Equation."

Darkseid was surprised. "What could you possibly know of the Anti-Life Equation?"

"I know that a solution to it exists," Lex breathed. "It was found, on Earth. In Egypt. Hundreds of years ago."

"You lie!" Darkseid roared.

"It's true!" Lex yelled back. "You've been searching for something that's been scrawled on pyramid walls in hieroglyphics for centuries! You've considered Earth to be beneath your notice all this time, and it could have given you the answer to the power you've sought for so long!"

Darkseid grabbed Lex's shirt and hoisted him to his feet. "I should rip your skull from your spine for speaking to me in such a way," he snarled. "I am tolerating your insolence on the slightest chance you may lead me to the solution to the Equation. But I warn you, if you are lying to me, human, I will make you wish for the sweet release that death would bring." He marched away from the balcony, dragging Lex roughly behind him. They walked through a dimly lit chamber, lit only by torches that hung on the stone walls.

From a pillar in the center of the room, Darkseid grabbed a small, intricate box…

"Is that…?" Lex gasped.

"Yes, miscreant," Darkseid scoffed. "It is a Mother Box. And now, we shall see if your claim holds true."

With a few mere adjustments to the box, it began to make a "ping, ping" sound. Then, much like what had happened at The Ferry, a huge hole was punched right through the very air in front of them with a loud "BOOM!"

Still maintaining a tight grip on Lex, Darkseid walked through the Boom Tube. The next thing Lex knew, he and Darkseid were standing in the middle of the blazing hot Egyptian desert. Lex had to squint, his eyes suddenly trying to adjust to the bright sun instead of the gloomy darkness of Apokolips.

Darkseid stood so still for a few moments that he almost looked like a statue, although he seemed oddly appropriate against the arid Egyptian skyline. "Hmmmm," he mused after a long moment. "I do sense an energy here. Something ancient, yet something I have felt before. Something that has been dormant for some time but is not lost." He began configuring more settings on the Mother Box.

"What are you doing now?" Lex asked.

"The Mother Box is capable of so much more than generating Boom Tubes. You humans are so pathetically short-sighted." He finished making his configurations, and set the box on the ground. "It is searching for a very specific energy sequence, and then re-assembling molecules that were scattered here a few decades ago."

Lex watched in awe as, very slowly, very gradually, small spheres of light began to swirl and spin around the Mother Box. The spheres grew bigger and more numerous, dancing around each other as if trying to form something. Lex could swear he heard something… a noise… a scream. A primal scream of a man in pain. What the hell was happening?

The spheres began to take shape. The shape of a man, a large man. At first it was just an outline, but then it began to take on a form with mass and weight to it. The man was on his knees, with his arms outstretched. He was screaming in agony. The man's skin, as impossible as it seemed, was blue. He had something that looked like cords or cables running from the back of his head down to his chest. He wore something that looked like armor, but definitely something that was centuries old. Was this a man, or a monster?

As the being finished taking form, the Mother Box seemed to power down. The figure finished his primal scream and looked around in confused astonishment.

"Where am I?" he asked. "Where are the X-Men? I remember a battle…"

"Silence," Darkseid commanded. "What is your name?"

The man rose to his feet. "I am En Sabah Nur. I was rendered discorporate by a mutant called Jean Grey."

"Are you a mutant?" Lex asked.

"I am as far beyond mutants as they are beyond you," En Sabah Nur replied. "Why have you restored me?"

"Do you possess the secrets of the Anti-Life Equation?" Darkseid asked.

En Sabah Nur considered the question. "What you speak of, has been called many things," he answered. "The act of stripping a man of his own will. Binding his soul to unwavering servitude. You ask if I possess its secrets and I do. It is how I have created my horsemen over the centuries."

"Horsemen?" Lex asked.

"Always four. Instruments to rain my destruction on this world," En Sabah Nur explained. "The equation, as you call it, can be implemented to varying degrees. Most recently I used a very simple version of it to subtly influence the hearts and minds of four mutants, called Magneto, Psylocke, Storm, and Angel. I enhanced their power levels and bound their loyalty to me, but left much of their own will and consciousness intact. I am capable of instituting a much more complete and devastating form of this equation which entirely removes the will of the vessel."

"Show me," Darkseid commanded. "If you can prove that you command this process, En Sabah Nur, then I will help you unleash it on this world to utter desolation."

"I would need new horsemen," En Sabah Nur said. "Powerful beings to transform."

"And you said there are always four?" Lex quickly interjected. The wheels in his mind were turning faster and faster. "I can get you your horsemen. All I need is a little time to put some things into motion. And I need Mother Boxes."

"Boxes!" Darkseid scoffed, emphasizing the plurality of the word. "Now it is more than one? Your sheer audacity, human, is nothing short of-"

"My name is Lex Luthor," Lex yelled in Darkseid's face. "And my 'audacity' has finally led you to this equation you've spent most of your life looking for. Give me the god damn Mother Boxes and I'll hand you four cosmically-powered beings on a silver platter. I'll lead them to you like lambs to the slaughter, and I'll even cover it up so no one questions their disappearance whatsoever. Now either we have a deal, or you can just kill me like you keep threatening to do. Which is it?"

Darkseid blinked a few times in astonishment. Then he laughed. A long, loud, deep laugh that shook the pyramids themselves.

.

 **SIX MONTHS LATER. THE BAXTER BUILDING.**

A screeching alarm began blaring in Reed Richards' laboratory, with red lights flashing from every corner of the room. Reed sprinted for a computer console on the other side of the lab.

"Is it something else with the prison?" Susan exclaimed, as she, Ben, and Johnny followed behind him.

"No!" Reed cried. "That alarm is for the Baxter Building! We're under attack!" He frantically typed away on the keyboard. A large bank of monitors displayed various security cameras throughout the building. They cycled through different feeds as Reed tapped away at the controls.

"ANOMALY DETECTED... ANOMALY DETECTED..." a computerized voice warned as the alarm continued to sound.

"I don't see anything...!" Reed gasped, confused. "Computer! What kind of anomaly?"

"TEMPORAL/SPACIAL ANOMALY," came the reply.

"Show me!" Reed yelled.

"PINPOINTING..."

The monitors began to switch rapidly as the computer attempted to assist Reed in locating the problem. One of the monitors switched to a view of the building's sub-basement. Another one quickly flashed through a series of files, then finally settled on a scan of a schematic that Reed had taken from Lex's Veritas notebook. It was labeled "MOTHER BOX."

"What in the name of my dear Aunt Petunia is a Mother Box?" Thing bellowed.

"Oh my God..." Reed whispered. He whirled around to face the others, his face pale. "Evacuate the Baxter Building NOW!" he yelled.

They didn't wait for an explanation. Ben, Johnny, and Susan sprinted for the door, ready to start evacuating the building as quickly as possible.

Sue cast a quick glance back over her shoulder. Reed was still at the console, typing away furiously.

"Reed, what are you doing?!"

"I have to send this alert! I may only have a matter of seconds before..."

He trailed off as something caught his eye. He turned and stared at the platform in the center of the room. It was lighting up. Reed looked at the controls, then back at the platform. He hadn't activated it.

Something was slowly taking form. Something was appearing, right before their very eyes.

"Great Scott..." Reed breathed.

On the teleportation pad stood En Sabah Nur. He opened his hands, and a swarm of what looked like tiny locusts flew from them. The little insects immediately flew into the eyes, ears, noses and mouths of Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. They screamed, swatting at the bugs and trying to spit them out.

En Sabah Nur stepped down from the platform. Behind him was a second, previously unseen figure: Lex Luthor himself. Lex wore a white suit and tie. On his right hand, he wore a black glove. He had recently been elected President of the United States of America. He watched in somber fascination as the swarm of insects overtook the Fantastic Four, bringing them literally to their knees.

"Are the bugs really necessary?" Lex asked, stepping down off the platform as well.

"They are a physical manifestation of what Darkseid calls the Anti-Life Equation," he explained, slowly walking between the members of the Four. "I am controlling them. They are entering the cerebral cortex through any available orifice they can find. They will erase the conscious thought from the subjects and allow me to transform them."

Lex stopped in front of Susan Storm-Richards. She looked up at him, bugs crawling across her face and into her ears and her mouth. Her blonde hair, and her blue-green eyes looking at him with a mixture of defiance and desperation, reminded him of… someone else. But he couldn't think about that now.

After long, horrific moments, the Fantastic Four stopped struggling and remained very still, even as the bugs continued to swarm around their heads.

"Rise," En Sabah Nur commanded. "Rise and follow me."

Slowly, hauntingly, Reed Richards, Susan Storm-Richards, Johnny Storm, and Benjamin J. Grimm all stood up, and mindlessly followed En Sabah Nur back to the teleportation platform.

Once En Sabah Nur, Lex, and their four mindless drones had safely teleported away, the four Mother Boxes that were strapped to the support columns in the building's sub-basement activated, blowing Boom Tubes through the columns and causing the building to collapse. The Fantastic Four were believed to have died in the destruction of the Baxter Building.

.

 **THE NEXT DAY. IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.**

"My fellow Americans," Lex began, his speech underscored by the click-click-clicking of the flashing cameras. "Yesterday this country was struck by a brazen act of terrorism. We are shocked and saddened by the sudden, violent loss of not only the brave group of heroes known as the Fantastic Four, but of the hundreds... possibly thousands... of innocent men and women who worked in New York City's famous Baxter Building."

Lex paused for a moment. More flashing cameras.

"We now know that this act of terrorism was the work of Victor Von Doom, the monarch of the sovereign nation of Latveria," he continued, speaking the lie that he had concocted all those months ago, long before putting his plan into action. "This is not the first time that Von Doom has lashed out against our proud nation. But I assure you, it will most definitely be the last."

That line drew a few quizzical murmurs from the crowd.

"To paraphrase Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Von Doom has merely succeeded in awakening a sleeping giant. This attack on our country... WILL... NOT... STAND." He punctuated each word by jabbing the index finger of his gloved hand in the air.

"I cannot, will not, jeopardize the safety of the people of these United States for one more day, one more hour, one more minute by letting a madman like Victor Von Doom live to threaten us again," Lex continued. "That is why, at this very moment, there is a plane on its way to Latveria carrying a nuclear bomb more powerful than Little Boy, the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945."

There was a collective gasp from the reporters.

Lex glanced at his watch.

"In a matter of minutes, Victor Von Doom will no longer pose a threat to the United States of America," he said. "And the nation of Latveria will no longer exist."

Lex looked out into the crowd. Although there were dozens and dozens of reporters gathered, he made direct eye contact with one in particular: Clark Kent.

"This is how the United States will respond to threats from now on," he said, almost as if he were speaking directly to Clark. Challenging him.

He broke eye contact and addressed the entire crowd again. "I will not be taking any questions. Thank you, and God bless the United States of America."

Lex turned and walked away from the podium amidst a cacophony of flashing cameras and reporters shouting "Mister President! Mister President!" despite his declaration that he would not be answering questions. The other reporters were so distracted that they barely noticed Clark Kent pushing past them, running toward the street as he loosened his tie and ripped off his glasses.

It would be less than thirty minutes before WGBS was showing a photo taken by a Latverian citizen that was going viral on all the social media and news websites. It was a photo of Superman, catching the nuclear bomb that had been intended for Latveria, stopping it from detonating.

.

 **TWO HOURS LATER. THE OVAL OFFICE.**

President Luthor stood at the small bar he'd set up in the Oval Office and poured himself a glass of La Vielle Reserve. Then he casually walked to the east door and peered out at the Rose Garden. Lex brought the snifter of brandy to his nose and took in the fine aroma for a moment before finally bringing it to his lips for a delicate sip.

He heard a familiar "WHOOSH" from somewhere outside. He smiled to himself.

Seconds later, the northwest door blew in off its hinges with a loud BANG! The door crashed to the floor as Superman marched into the Oval Office looking absolutely furious.

"Come in, it's open," Lex deadpanned.

Bullseye and Deadshot raced into the room after Superman, each pointing a gun at the Man of Steel. Lex titled his head to the side and stared at them.

"Really?" Lex asked, rolling his eyes.

"Unless you have kryptonite bullets in those guns, gentlemen, you're wasting your time," Superman seethed through clenched teeth.

Lex ushered Bullseye and Deadshot out of the room with a shoo-shooing motion of his hand. Reluctantly the men left.

"Are you trying to start a war, Lex?" Superman asked.

"Oh, Clark," Lex said, walking back over to the bar. "Nobody wants war. I just want to keep the threat alive. Would you care for a glass of brandy?"

"You were about to nuke a country of 500,000 people just to get to one man."

"Dr. Doom is a threat to the people of the United States. I have a duty to keep the American people safe."

"You would be willing to kill hundreds of thousands of people? Men, women, children? The citizens of Latveria are a kind, peaceful people who never hurt or threatened anyone. It's only their monarch who has ever caused trouble."

"Caused trouble?" Lex scoffed. "Is that what you call blowing up a building in the middle of New York? A building filled with 'kind, peaceful people who never hurt or threatened anyone.' Doom killed thousands of US citizens just to get to four superheroes that he had a grudge with. It's like poker, Clark. Doom set the stakes, and I raised."

"You are gambling with people's lives, Lex."

"Every president does," he replied, pouring a second glass of brandy. "It's part of the job." He extended the glass, offering it to Superman.

Superman scowled. He looked at Lex's hand. Lex was holding the glass in his right hand, the one with the black glove. Superman's expression suddenly changed to one of surprise.

"Tsk, tsk," Lex said. "You peeked, didn't you? That damn x-ray vision." Lex set the brandy glass down. "You know the tabloids are having a field day trying to figure out why I wear the glove. Did you hear the theory that it's in memory of my late father? That's my favorite. Dear old dad, how I miss him," Lex said sarcastically.

He pulled off the glove. The hand he revealed was not flesh and blood. It was artificial. A mechanical prosthetic hand.

"You remember the kryptonite ring?" Lex said. "I wore it thinking it would keep you out of my hair. Metaphorically speaking, of course." Lex chuckled, running his left hand over his bald head. "I never imagined it would give me radiation poisoning."

"Radiation poisoning?" Superman repeated.

"Remember when we thought the meteor rocks gave me a super-immune system? That they made it so I could never get sick?" Lex shook his head. "What a laugh. They were doing a number on me, all right. The green rock that was supposed to be deadly only to you was slowly killing me. I had to have my hand amputated before it spread." He opened and closed his mechanical hand. It moved just as naturally as a real one. "Stark was kind enough to whip up this artificial replacement for me."

"You'd better watch yourself, Lex," Superman said finally. "You're letting the power of being president go to your head."

"No, you'd better watch yourself, Clark," Lex said. He put the glove back on over his mechanical hand. "I'm giving another press conference this afternoon. But since we're such good friends, I thought I'd give you a little exclusive. You interfered with a direct order from the president today. That's treason, Clark. Superman is now officially an enemy of the United States of America."

Superman folded his arms across his chest and clenched his jaw.

"And, for aiding and abetting you, so is the entire Justice League," Lex stated. "I am instructing the Iron Avengers to apprehend every single member of the League and lock them away in the N-Zone prison until we can conduct a proper trial."

"You can't be serious!" Superman snapped.

"Oh, I'm quite serious," Lex said. "How can I function as president if some caped lunatic is constantly defying me?" He picked up his brandy glass again. "Thank you, Clark. You played your part perfectly. You gave me exactly the opportunity I needed to make superheroes illegal." He raised his glass in a mock toast.

Superman was absolutely livid.

"Now get out of here before Bullseye comes back," Lex said. "And remember, you were the one who mentioned kryptonite bullets, not me. You shouldn't go giving him ideas like that, he's very... creative."

Superman leaned in over Lex's desk. "This isn't over," he said, inches from Lex's face.

Lex nodded. "I know," he said with a smile.

With another WHOOSH, Superman sped out of the room.

.

 **ONE MONTH LATER. LEX-STARK INTERNATIONAL, LEVEL 33.1**

Lex Luthor, Dr. Hugo Strange, Dr. Burt Teng, and Dr. Miles Warren walked into the secret installation that housed many of Lex's off-the-books secret projects, the existence of which were all unknown to his partner Tony Stark. This particular area included holding cells for several test subjects that they'd been extracting DNA from to create clones.

"I'm impressed, gentlemen," Lex said. "All of the projects here at 33.1 seem to be coming along right on schedule."

"Thank you, Mr. Luthor," Dr. Warren replied. "It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with such unique subjects."

"I'm sure," Lex said. "There is another 'unique subject' being brought here as we speak. I trust cell 53 is ready for its occupant?"

"Of course, sir," Teng replied. "The red sun lamps in the ceiling were constructed to your exact specifications."

"Good. Notify me when the subject arrives," Lex said. "I have a few things to attend to before-"

Just then someone ran into the room screaming like a maniac.

"You have to help me! Doc! Please, help me!"

The man who had rushed into the room was wearing Iron Avenger armor, minus the helmet. It was Harry Osborn, or at least a version of him. His hair had gone gray on the sides, and his face was weathered and wrinkly.

"Doc, what's happening to me?" Harry exclaimed.

"Now, now, please, calm down," Hugo said, sounding a bit embarrassed that this outburst was happening in front of Mr. Luthor.

"What's going on here?" Lex demanded.

"Well, Mr. Luthor, as you know, we've always had a bit of an issue stabilizing the aging process of the clones," Dr. Warren explained. "Emily Dinsmore… Adrian Cross…"

Lex sighed. "You assured me that the problem had been corrected."

"We thought it had, sir, but you see-"

"What's happening to me?!" Harry cried. "I've aged 30 years in a day!"

"Let me get you something to calm you down," Hugo said. He took a syringe out of a nearby drawer and filled it from a small bottle on the table.

"No! You're not sticking me with any more needles!" Harry yelled. "You've been injecting me with chemicals every day! I want an explanation before you put anything else in my body!"

"Mr. Osborn, please. This is the only way to keep you stable."

Harry swatted the syringe right out of the man's hand. It hit the wall and shattered.

"What did you people do to me?!" he yelled.

Harry put his hands to his face. He turned away from Lex and the other men. He kept touching his face, near his eyes. It looked like he was crying. His tears were red.

"What the…?" Harry muttered, his voice shaking with fear. "I… I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding from my eyes!"

"You told me you had this process under control!" Lex bellowed.

"Mr. Luthor, I can explain!" Dr. Warren said quickly.

"Then start explaining, Dr. Warren!"

"If the DNA comes from a living specimen, the process works perfectly," Dr. Warren explained quickly. "If it comes from a subject who is deceased, it becomes much more complicated. We did tell you that sir, you do know that."

"Yes, you told me that, Dr. Warren," Lex fumed. "Which is why I've done my best to provide you with living subjects. I didn't realize that 'more complicated' meant instant geriatrics and bleeding eyeballs!"

"The bleeding, yes," Dr. Warren continued. "The Adam Knight effect. When the DNA comes from a deceased subject we need to use a derivative of the Lazarus Serum to reinvigorate the-"

"I've heard enough," Lex interrupted. He turned to the man next to him. "Dr. Teng, did you know about this?"

"I… I…" Dr. Teng stammered awkwardly.

Lex shook his head in disgust.

"Please," Harry Osborn begged. "Can't you do anything to help me?"

Lex reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, pulled out a gun, and shot Harry Osborn in the head. The degenerating clone of Harry Osborn fell to the ground, dead.

"Gentlemen," Lex said, calmly putting his gun back in his jacket pocket. "While I understand that living specimens are more convenient for you, they are certainly not always more convenient for me. This problem needs to be rectified immediately."

"Yes sir," the three men replied quickly.

"Can we expect the same issue with subject 27, then?" Lex asked. Subject 27 was the designation for the clone he'd commission of Chloe Sullivan. Initially he had been under the impression that Chloe possessed a meteor-induced power to heal others. He thought he might be able to use it to reverse the effects of his radiation poisinong. Since Chloe's DNA was collected after her untimely demise, she was likely to experience the same ill effects.

"We're working on it, sir," Dr. Warren said. "We're working on it."

Lex nodded, obviously frustrated. He started to walk out of the room. He stopped, looking over his shoulder at one of the holding cells. He recognized the occupant. It was Peter Parker.

"That's why you've kept him alive, I take it?" Lex asked.

"Yes sir," Dr. Warren said. "If anything should happen to the Spider-Man clone and we need to create another, we'll need another sample from Mr. Parker while he's still alive."

Lex let out a very long, slow sigh. He stared directly at Peter Parker, deep in thought for several long moments.

Without a word, Lex walked over to the table in the middle of the room and pulled a file out of a filing cabinet beside the table. He scribbled a very long note on one of the pages in the file folder. When he was done, he handed it to Hugo Strange.

 _-I need mental reprogramming on Subject 27. In the event that Parker escapes, he will likely free her as well. I need you to mentally condition her - her prime directive needs to be to kill Peter Parker.-_

"Can it be done, Hugo?" Lex asked.

Dr. Hugo Strange read the note and smiled a broad, deranged smile.

"Yes, sir," Strange replied. "Absolutely, sir."

"Good," Lex said. "See to it."

He started to walk out of the room again.

"And gentlemen," he added, pausing for a moment at the door. "If anything like this happens again, bleeding from the eyeballs will seem like a day at the beach compared to what I'll have done to you."

Lex exited the room, leaving the door open wide behind him.

.

 **SIX DAYS LATER. LEX-STARK INTERNATIONAL. LEX'S PENTHOUSE OFFICE.**

Lex Luthor was wearing his battlesuit as he stared out the giant picture window in his penthouse office. He watched as the raindrops tapped a rhythmic pink, plink, plink against the glass. It wasn't a thunderstorm, but the occasional bright flash of white coming from Ryker's Island looked just like lightning on the horizon.

Behind him he heard the soft "bing" announcing the elevator's arrival at the penthouse floor, followed by the quiet mechanical whoosh of the doors sliding open.

"Hello, Clark," Lex said calmly, still staring out the window.

"Lex," Superman replied, saying the name more like an accusation than a greeting.

Lex slowly turned around. "Do you remember the night back in Smallville when I found you strung up in that field?" he asked. "The quarterback and his buddies picked you for that old scarecrow hazing ritual."

Superman was silent. After a moment, he nodded.

"I didn't know it at the time of course, but it wasn't exposure to the elements that had you shaking and shivering on that cold autumn night. It was the fact that you had Lana Lang's kryptonite necklace around your neck," Lex said. "I found it after you sped away. That was the first time I'd seen the meteor rock up close since the meteor shower... the day that cost me my hair. Who would have guessed that, all these years later, it would also cost me my hand..."

Vents all over Lex's armor slid open, and a shimmering green mist of kryptonite radiation formed around him like an aura.

"...or that it would prove to be my ultimate weapon against you," Lex finished.

"I've come here to try to reason with you one last time, Lex," Superman declared.

Lex blinked. "You've... come here? To...?" He burst out laughing. "You can't be serious, can you?" he asked incredulously. "You're here because my men captured you. They beat you, brought you here, and locked you up in a cell. You make it sound like you just strolled up to my doorstep of your own free will."

"It doesn't matter how I got here," Superman said. "What matters is what happens next."

"Well, now, that I agree with," Lex said. He took a step toward his former friend. Then, with what almost sounded like a hint of regret in his voice, he added, "Clark, I brought you here to kill you. You do know that, don't you?"

"Why not just lock me up in the N-Zone Prison like all the other heroes then?" Superman asked. "They'll all die when the prison explodes. Or did you want the honor of killing me yourself?"

"Nothing quite so sentimental," Lex said, shaking his head. "I just wouldn't believe you were dead unless I saw it firsthand. I didn't trust anyone else to do the job. As my dearly departed dad was fond of saying, 'If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself!'"

He punctuated the last word with a concussive blast of kryptonite radiation from his left hand which knocked Superman clear across the room and into a wall. Superman slid to the ground revealing a huge indentation in the wall behind him.

Lex marched forward, the servos in the battlesuit whirring and clacking as he did. Superman groaned and tried to stand up. He was too slow. Before he could come close to getting to his feet, Lex was right in front of him. He punched Superman in the face, hard, sending him straight to the floor. Blood gushed from Superman's nose, streaming down his face and running into his mouth.

"Here," Lex said with mock tenderness. "Let me get that for you."

He took the corner of Superman's cape and gently wiped the blood from his nose and mouth. Superman shoved Lex's hand away. Lex grabbed Superman's wrist and dug his fingers in, burning kryptonite radiation searing his skin. Superman roared with pain. He rammed the palm of his hand against Lex's chin and tried to push him away, but it did little good. Lex just laughed and bore down harder on Superman's wrist.

Superman finally managed to yank his arm away from Lex. He leapt to his feet, throwing everything he had left into a desperate assault. He threw punch after punch at Lex's armor. He managed to make a few dents, but every time his fist made contact with the irradiated battlesuit it was like touching a red-hot stovetop.

Lex cracked Superman in the jaw, sending him staggering back. Superman shook it off and lunged and Lex, grabbing him around the waist and trying to tackle him. Lex spun and they crashed into a table, toppling it over as they grappled with one another. Lex grabbed at Superman and missed, winding up with a handful of his cape and ripping part of it completely off. Superman socked Lex in the stomach and knocked him off balance for a moment, but he quickly recovered and blasted the Man of Steel with another burst of kryptonite rays. He staged backward, grabbing onto a wall to keep from falling.

With Superman dazed, Lex picked him up and lifted him over his head. Then, he savagely threw him across the room, knocking over office furniture and toppling over a potted plant. Superman's head smashed into another wall. He lay on the ground, motionless.

The kryptonite aura around Lex grew even stronger as he walked toward Superman once again. He extended his arms, palms facing up, and let the radiation build up in them.

"I don't think you'll survive another blast," Lex said, towering over his battered opponent. "This is the end, Clark."

"Is this..." Superman gasped. "Is this really... how you want to be remembered, Lex?"

Lex froze.

"What?"

"When we were... back in Smallville..." Superman spoke in short bursts as he struggled to catch his breath. "You always used to say... 'I don't want to do good things... I want to do great things.' You... have done great things, Lex. You've... given people jobs. You've given them protection. You've... given them hope."

Lex slowly lowered his hands.

"Now... New York is about to be vaporized..." Superman continued. "And you're about to... to kill the one person... who could save everyone."

The kryptonite aura faded a little.

"Is that..." Superman coughed. "Is that how you want... the world... to remember... President Luthor?"

Almost imperceptibly, Lex shook his head. The quiet droning sound that his armor had been making stopped and the green aura that surrounded him dissipated as the vents clicked shut. Lex walked back to the window and stared out at the rain again. The lightning-like flashes out over Ryker's Island were coming closer together now, much like an approaching thunderstorm.

"You're at death's door," Lex said, still staring out the window. "I can't imagine the amount of effort it would take you to even stand up right now after what you've been through. And you still honestly believe that you can do it? That somehow you can still save everyone?"

Superman pushed himself up. Shaking, he got to his knees. With one hand pressed against the wall, he agonizingly managed to bring himself slowly but surely into a standing position. Blood still dripping from his nose, his cape and costume torn, and his skin turning a slight shade of green from the overwhelming exposure to kryptonite, he clenched his fists and stared defiantly at Lex.

"Yes," he said defiantly.

Lex looked at Superman with a kind of amused admiration. He nodded approvingly. Then he reached over and pressed a button on his desk. The picture window slid up and open. The cold wind and the rain blew into Lex's office, rustling papers on his desk.

"Then go," Lex said. "If you really, truly believe that you can do it, then go."

He and Superman stared at each other for a long time. Then Superman took a step. And another. And another. Step by measured step, he stepped to the window ledge. The wind blew what was left of his tattered cape dramatically behind him. The icy rain that hit his face was refreshing, cooling off the burning sensation of the kryptonite rays and washing away some of the blood that was smeared on his face.

Superman took a deep breath. Then, without so much as a look back at Lex, he stepped out into the New York sky. He took off flying straight for Ryker's Island.

Lex watched him fly off until he was completely out of sight.

"For what it's worth," Lex said quietly as he pressed the button on his desk again and closed the window. "I do believe that you can do it, Clark."

He took a plastic cylinder out of his desk. Then, he carefully picked up the shred of Superman's cape that had fallen to the floor during their fight. The very same shred with which Lex had so delicately wiped the blood from Superman's face. Lex gently placed the piece of cape into the cylinder and closed the lid tightly.

"And for what it's worth," he continued. "It really doesn't matter at all."

With a whirr and a hiss, the arms, legs, and torso of Lex's armor slid open and he casually stepped right out of it, straightening his tie as he did. He set the plastic cylinder down on his desk and pulled out his cell phone.

"Dr. Warren, it's Luthor. I have the sample," he said into the phone. He cradled the phone in the crook of his shoulder as he opened the laptop on his desk. "Stay where you are. This location has been compromised. I'm initiating the omega protocol now." Lex typed a command into the computer. A flashing red countdown timer appeared, the seconds quickly ticking down from 5 minutes. "I'll be joining you there very shortly," he concluded. Then he hung up the phone.

Lex slid open one of the desk drawers and was about to reach inside when there was a soft "bing" from across the room. Lex quickly looked up. He stared at the elevator. The doors slid open to reveal... no one? The elevator was empty.

He quickly slammed the drawer shut. He took a few cautious steps toward the elevator, rather confused. He tilted his head to one side, peering curiously into the elevator's empty cabin.

Spider-Man swung down from inside the top of the elevator and kicked Lex sharply in the chest, sending him flying across the room. He landed roughly on the floor.

Lex scrambled to his feet and bolted for his battlesuit. His feet were quickly pulled out from under him by two weblines that shot out and snared him by the ankles. He fell flat on his face.

Slowly, hand over hand, Spider-Man began pulling Lex across the floor toward him. Lex struggled and clawed at the ground, but he was yanked closer and closer to his attacker every moment.

Finally within his grasp, Spider-Man grabbed Lex by the collar and hoisted him to his feet.

"You killed Chloe Sullivan!" Spider-Man yelled. "Then you changed my memory of it to make me think that Clark did it!"

Lex knew immediately that he was dealing with the clone of Spider-Man now, not the genuine article Peter Parker who'd been locked up in the lab. "What's your point?" Lex asked flippantly.

Spider-Man punched Lex in the face, sending a splatter of blood flying from his lip. Lex grabbed his jaw, trying to tell if it had been dislocated. He tongued at one of his teeth, fairly certain it had been knocked loose.

"Not so smug now, are you?" Spider-Man snarled. He punched Lex again, then savagely smashed his head against the wall. Lex slumped forward, barely staying conscious.

Spider-Man grabbed Lex by the necktie and dragged him across the room. He slammed his fist down on the button on Lex's desk, and the giant picture window slid open once more. With rage boiling up inside of him Spider-Man leaned Lex out over the edge. Lex scuffed and shuffled his feet, trying to keep them perched on the slight bit of ledge that he had at the edge of the window. Spider-Man leaned him back farther and farther, gradually letting go of more and more of Lex's tie, the only thing keeping him from plummeting. Lex stumbled and swayed, flapping his arms frantically to try to keep his balance.

"It would be so easy..." Spider-Man mused. "I should just let you fall."

He considered it for a long time, enjoying watching Lex twist and turn and shimmy his toes back and forth along the ledge as the wind and rain battered away at him. By simply opening his hand Spider-Man could send Lex Luthor to his death.

But he didn't. Instead he yanked Lex back inside and shoved him back down to the floor again.

"That would be too quick," Spider-Man decided. He cracked his knuckles. "For what you did, I'm going to take my time on you."

"Better not take too much time," Lex wheezed.

"What do you mean?" Spider-Man asked.

"This building is going to explode," Lex said, trying to catch his breath. "In less than three minutes."

Spider-Man laughed. "You're bluffing," he said. "You would never blow up your own building." Although before he even finished the sentence, the quiet buzzing of his spider-sense started going off in the back of his skull.

"This building? The one with my secret lab, which houses all sorts of clones, blueprints, classified projects, and other evidence that could probably put me behind bars for the rest of my life?" Lex asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Noooo, why would I ever want to blow that up?"

Spider-Man took a step back. The quiet tingling had quickly escalated into a full-blown spider-sense alarm in his head.

Lex pointed to the laptop on his desk. Spider-Man spun it around and stared at the screen. The flashing red countdown clock was at two and a half minutes.

"If you wanted to save your little blonde girlfriend, now would be the time to do it," Lex said with a slight grin.

Spider-Man cursed, then leapt onto the desk, then onto the ledge, and then out the window.

Lex struggled a little to get up. He was tired, and his body ached.

"Well," he said to himself. "That didn't go quite according to plan... but I'll take it."

He walked around his desk and opened the drawer again, this time taking out the Mother Box inside. He calibrated it, and the box started PING-PING-PING-ing.

There was a sharp and sudden BOOM as the air in front of Lex was ripped open, revealing a glowing yellow tube-shaped portal in the center of the room. He grabbed the cylinder that contained the shard of cape, and quickly stepped through the boom tube.

Moments later, he was stepping out the other end of the boom tube and into another lab nearly 1,500 miles away. A team of scientists was waiting for him. Among them was Dr. Miles Warren.

"Mr. Luthor," Dr. Warren said. He glanced over at a small television set that he and the other scientists had been watching. It was tuned to news about the situation at the prison. "What is happening in New York?" he asked, hesitantly.

Lex shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he said. "What matters is that all eyes are on New York City right now. No one will be looking at CADMUS Labs in Smallville, Kansas." He proudly handed the cylinder to Dr. Warren. "Now, doctor. Our real work can begin."

.

 **ONE MONTH LATER. CADMUS LABS.**

Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller descended a large staircase, heading for the lab on the lower level of the building.

"All right, Lex. Out with it," Waller demanded. Lex looked at her quizzically. "By all accounts, your plans have failed. The Justice League managed to evacuate the prison before it exploded. Superman and the other heroes are still alive. And yet you're still grinning like the cat who swallowed the canary!"

Lex threw his head back and laughed. "That's because it was never about the Justice League, Mrs. Waller. If they'd died in the prison explosion that certainly would have been an added bonus, but that was never my real priority."

"Surely you can't mean the clones, then?" Waller said. "That program hardly worked out much better." They reached the bottom of the staircase and began walking down the hallway toward a security door.

"Did you know that when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, his first 2,000 attempts ended in failure? 2,000 failed light bulbs!" Lex exclaimed. "And when a reporter asked Edison what it felt like to fail 2,000 times, do you know what he said? He replied, 'I didn't fail. Inventing the light bulb just happened to be a 2,000 step process.' Success, my dear Mrs. Waller, is measured by the end result, not how many steps it takes to get there."

Waller looked skeptical. "So what exactly is your end result?"

He was practically beaming with pride. "I've cloned Superman."

Waller laughed. "Are you serious? Is that really what this was all about? You wanted a clone of Superman to act as your own personal lapdog?"

"I was never much of a dog person," Lex replied. "No, the truth is, I want Superman for his body."

Waller was visibly taken aback. "Lex… I had no idea!"

Lex waved his hand dismissively. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Mrs. Waller. That's not what I meant."

He stopped as they reached the security door. He turned and looked at her. His face was suddenly very solemn and serious.

"I'm dying, Amanda," he said.

"What?" she gasped.

Lex held up his mechanical hand. "The radiation poisoning that took my hand. We amputated, but it wasn't soon enough. It had already spread to my bloodstream. I'm living on borrowed time. The doctors say I have a few months left at most."

Amanda Waller was in shock. "Lex. I'm so sorry. But what does this have to do with Superman?"

Lex smiled. "Spare parts. His Kryptonian physique doesn't get sick. Doesn't die. He's recharged by the golden rays of Earth's yellow sun, and as long as he avoids a certain shiny green rock, he's essentially immortal." He spread his arms dramatically. "I replace my dying and decaying organs with his, Mrs. Waller… not only will I cheat death, but I will become a veritable Superman myself."

"You're cloning Superman to harvest his internal organs!" Waller replied. "That's barbaric!"

"It's survival of the fittest. And I don't intend to perish so easily." He pressed the thumb of his left hand against the biometric reader next to the door.

The door to the lab slid open. Lex entered confidently. Amanda Waller, still somewhat in a state of shock after what she'd just learned, followed much more hesitantly.

Dr. Miles Warren rushed across the lab in a state of panic as soon as he saw Lex enter.

"Mr. Luthor, I can explain," he said, his hands shaking.

Lex stopped in his tracks. He clenched his teeth. "Well that's certainly not what I expected to hear, Dr. Warren," Lex said, exhaling slowly through his nose.

"Mr. Luthor, we had perfected the process, absolutely… we worked out all the kinks…" Dr. Warren's lip trembled. He looked as if he were about to cry. "But, we perfected it with humans. Kryptonian DNA is another matter entirely. We assumed too much that it would be similar to our own, that it would react to the cloning process the same way…"

Lex reached up and gently straightened Dr. Warren's tie.

"What exactly are you saying, Dr. Warren?" he asked, trying to retain his composure.

"Sir… the way Superman's DNA responded to the process… it… it's just… frankly sir, it's downright bizarre."

Lex tightened Dr. Warren's tie to the point that it began to choke him.

"Show me," Lex fumed, still grinding his teeth.

"Yes… Yes sir," Dr. Warren replied, awkwardly pulling his tie out of Lex's grip. He hurriedly led the way to the other side of the lab.

They came to an area of the lab that was blocked off by a curtain.

"I should warn you," Dr. Warren said, stepping in front of the curtain and holding his hands up. "What's behind this curtain is… well, rather disturbing to look at…"

Lex shoved Dr. Warren out of the way and ripped back the curtain. Behind it was a tank filled with blue liquid. Floating inside the tank was an inhuman creature that looked vaguely like Superman, but with pale white skin that seemed to have a rock-like texture. Lex closed his eyes and turned away in absolute disgust.

"What steps are we taking to correct this?" Lex said after a long pause, still not bringing himself to look directly at the monstrosity.

"Sir...?" Dr. Warren asked, confused.

Lex turned and stared at Dr. Warren. "What's next, Doctor?" Lex demanded. "Failure in this project is not an option."

Dr. Warren looked mortified. "Sir, if we were to even try to make another attempt at cloning Superman... we'd need another sample of his DNA."

Lex snapped. He charged at Dr. Warren and slammed his back against the glass tank. He wrapped his left hand around Dr. Warren's throat and squeezed, choking him mercilessly. Dr. Warren kicked his feet and struggled to pry Lex's fingers off of his neck.

"Do you have... ANY... idea... what I had to go through to get you that sample, you treacherous jackal?!" Lex snarled. "All the planning that went into getting everything perfectly right? Do you honestly think I have the time and energy to go through it all again?!"

Dr. Warren tried to pry Lex's fingers off of his windpipe. He managed to cough out something that sounded like "stop" and "please." Lex's face was mere inches from Dr. Warren's, staring him in the eyes as he watched the doctor suffer and squirm. He wanted to watch the life slowly fade from Dr. Warren's eyes.

At length, however, Lex released his death-grip on Dr. Warren and the doctor collapsed the ground, taking in huge gulps of precious air. His trachea felt like sandpaper but he didn't care. He was grateful for every sweet breath he was able to take. He shook with the horrible sensation of being so close to death still creeping through every fiber of his being.

Lex pointed at the creature in the tank. "Get this thing out of here," he said, repulsed. He started to storm out of the lab. Then he stopped. He looked more somber than Amanda Waller had ever seen him. "I've damned us all for nothing," Lex said with a horrified realization, his voice full of despair. "I've damned us all for absolutely nothing."

Waller took a few cautious steps toward Lex. She was terrified of him.

"Lex... what do you mean?" she asked tentatively. "What do you mean you've damned us all?"

"Do you have any idea what I had to do to get the Mother Box technology, Mrs. Waller?" he asked. He stared off into space. "I made a deal with the devil."

.

 **SIX MONTHS LATER. THE ABU KUBAIS MOUNTAINS, SAUDI ARABIA.**

Lex gasped and struggled and strained as he slowly, laboriously climbed up the rocky and uneven mountain terrain. He wore a parka over what was left of one of his spare battlesuits, which he'd modified to have an emphasis on the life-support capabilities. He stopped and took a huge gulp from the canteen he carried with him. His water supply was almost gone. He hoped that this dangerous ascent wasn't all for nothing. He reached up and grabbed onto the next ledge and continued to pull himself up.

The modest dwelling that he saw when he reached the next major cliff of the mountain was not what he was expecting to see. It was a humble domicile made of black stone, set as far back into the mountain's natural recesses as possible. Could this possibly be what he had been searching for?

Wearily, Lex entered the small stone hut. As soon as he did, two men wearing long robes approached him. They did not speak, but regarded Lex carefully. They reminded him of Tibetan monks.

"I seek… Ra's Al Ghul…" Lex panted, winded from his long journey up the side of the mountain. "Am I… in the right… place?"

"Why do you seek audience with the Demon's Head?" one of the monks asked.

"I seek… the Lazarus Pit," Lex replied.

The two monks looked at each other. Then, without so much as a word, they turned and walked away.

"Where… are you… going?" Lex asked. He had to lean against the wall to steady himself.

When the monks returned, one of them was carrying a sword, and the other was carrying two swords.

"Wait… what are you…?"

"Western infidel," one of the monks said angrily. He tossed a sword at Lex. On sheer instinct, Lex caught the sword by the handle. "You violate the sanctity of this place searching for that to which you have no right. Defend yourself or die!"

The monks, who had moments ago seemed so docile, lunged at Lex with their swords swinging.

Lex reacted immediately, the fencing training of his youth kicking in. He blocked their attacks, parrying and countering their swords as quickly as he could. He had flashbacks to fencing against his father in the Luthor mansion, and even to fencing against Harry Osborn during their prep school days. But the adrenaline and muscle memory that drove him now could not last. If he had been at full health, against one assailant, he could have held his own indefinitely and most likely overpowered them. Even two assailants, at full health, might have been manageable. But he was exhausted from the climb, and his body was literally failing him due to the radiation poisoning. The fact that he was holding the two monks off for even a few seconds was requiring nothing short of a herculean effort.

"Divert all power to offensive capabilities!" Lex yelled.

The monks paused for a moment, confused by what Lex had just uttered.

Lex dropped his sword and threw his hands out in front of him, palms out. There was an electronic whining noise, and then an enormous flash of light as his armor let out a blast of electricity. The monks went flying across the room and slammed against the far wall. They fell to the ground, unconscious.

Lex immediately dropped to his knees. "Re-route… power… back to… life support…" he grunted, gasping for breath. The armor gave off a low-pitched hum, which abruptly stopped. Lex banged on the chest-piece of his armor. "Re-route power... to life support..." he repeated. This time the armor clicked a few times like a stove burner that won't ignite. The room was spinning. Lex started coughing.

A curtain at the back of the room parted and a tall man with brown hair and a beard stepped out. He slowly approached Lex. He bent down and picked up one of the swords from the floor. He extended it foreword, but not in a threatening manner. He used the tip of the sword to gently push aside Lex's open parka and gain a closer look at the armor underneath.

"What brings Lex Luthor to the doorstep of the League of Shadows?" the man asked.

"You know who I am?" Lex asked, his voice barely a hushed whisper.

"The world is too small for someone like Lex Luthor to disappear. No matter how far he chooses to sink himself," the man replied.

"Are you Ra's Al Ghul?" Lex asked.

"So I am called."

"I seek the Lazarus Pit," Lex said.

"The Lazarus Pit has been depleted," Ra's replied. "Its resources were exhausted resurrecting me from my near death in Gotham City."

Lex hung his head. "Then my last hope… is gone," he said. "It was all for nothing." The room was spinning faster. Everything was a blur. Lex began to feel like everything was closing in on him. "Darkseid is coming. He has the anti-life equation and it's all my fault."

"What did you say?" Ra's replied, seeming genuinely surprised.

"Darkseid. En Sabah Nur. The anti-life equation. We're all… doomed…"

With that, Lex promptly lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

.

 **AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF TIME LATER.**

Lex awoke in a large, ornate temple with granite walls. Incense burned nearby, and the peaceful sound of gently flowing water was somewhere in the distance. The room he was in was warm and dimly lit.

"Where am I?"

Ra's Al Ghul stepped forward from the shadows of the room.

"You are in one of our recovery rooms. You have been unconscious for quite some time," he said.

Lex looked down at his body. His armor had been not only been repaired, but modified extensively. It was slimmed down, sleeker. He could tell even at a quick glance that several of the offensive components had been removed to focus almost exclusively on the life-sustaining functionality. He could hear the life-support system humming along like it was supposed to.

"You fixed my armor?" Lex asked.

"You seem surprised," Ra's replied. "Although we choose to live removed from the trappings of modern technology, it does not mean we do not understand it. The League of Shadows has existed for centuries. Our scientific knowledge is more expansive than you would imagine." Ra's approached Lex holding a large, old, dusty book. "As is our knowledge of ancient mythology."

Lex looked confused.

"While you drifted in and out of consciousness, you spoke of the anti-life equation, and of someone or something called Darkseid," Ra's said.

"Yes," Lex replied, solemnly. "He is coming. He has the equation because of me. He'll desecrate the earth and wipe out mankind. We're talking an extinction level event, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"I think, perhaps, there may be something we can do about it," Ra's said, opening the book.

.

 **SIX WEEKS LATER.**

Gathered in the temple that was the current home to the League of Shadows were Ra's Al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Vandal Savage, the Red Skull, Magneto, and Dr. Doom.

"I have gathered you all here because there is an event coming," Ra's explained to the gathered men. "A catastrophic event being put into motion by forces that are not of this world. Very soon there will be an apocalypse that will threaten all life on earth."

There was surprised murmuring from the gathered men, but they allowed Ra's to continue.

"At this point I do not believe it is possible to prevent this event," Ra's stated. "What concerns me is what happens next. The opportunity to rebuild. To reshape the world in the aftermath of this worldwide catastrophe. Those who are left standing will have the unique opportunity to write the next pages in the book of human history."

He laid the same book that he'd shown to Lex several weeks earlier on a nearby table and flipped it open to a certain page. On the page were sketches of what looked like six crystals or jewels.

"Have you ever heard of the Infinity Gems, gentlemen?" Ra's asked.

The Red Skull indicated that he had. The others seemed unfamiliar with them.

"Six gems, scattered across the globe," Ra's elaborated. "Each gem grants whomever wields it control over one of the following elements: Time, Space, Reality, Power, the Mind, or the Soul. If one to were possess all six at once, the gems can be assembled to form what is known as the Infinity Gauntlet. With the Gauntlet, one would attain god-like omnipotence and the ability to re-shape the world as he saw fit. I am proposing that we each take the responsibility of locating one of the gems."

"Say we agree to your plans," Magneto spoke up. "Six gems. Six of us. We each retrieve one. Then what? We all decide together how to rebuild the earth?"

"Of course not, Mister Lensherr," Ra's insisted. "I'm sure that each of us would use the Gauntlet very differently. In fact, I fully expect that as we begin to locate the gems we will turn on one another. Indeed, we will most likely eventually kill each other. In the end however, one of us will be left standing over the ruins of the apocalypse with the Infinity Gauntlet and the ability to reshape the world as that individual sees fit. I expect that the man left standing will be me. I'm sure each of you feels the same about yourselves. In that case I say may the best man win." Ra's stepped forward and extended his hand to the group. "What say all of you?"

Lex did not hesitate. He stepped forward and extended a hand as well, placing it on top of Ra's Al Ghul's hand. "To the future of mankind."

Vandal Savage stepped forward and placed his hand on theirs. "The future of mankind," he repeated.

Magneto was the next to step forward, though a bit more hesitantly. He slowly extended his hand and placed it with the others. "To the future... of mutant kind," he stated. He looked at each of them, making it clear that he had different plans for the Gauntlet if he should be the one to obtain it. Ra's smiled, clearly reveling in the challenge.

The Red Skull sneered. He looked at the other men and shook his head. He stepped forward even more hesitantly than Magneto. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. The thought of working with these others, particularly with a mutant, disgusted him. But the power was too tempting. Very reluctantly, he did extend his hand and place it with the others. "May the best man win," he said flatly.

They all turned and looked expectantly at Dr. Doom. He had not moved since his confrontation with Lex Luthor a few moments ago. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, deep in thought.

Finally Doom turned away from the other men. "Bah!" he shouted, waving a hand dismissively. "Doom does not care for your globe-trotting contest and grand designs. I have no need of it. My hated enemies, Reed Richards and the rest of his pathetic Fantastic Four, are dead. Leave me to quietly rule Latveria and to hell with the rest of the world." Doom began to walk out of the room.

"The Fantastic Four are not dead," Lex called after him.

Dr. Doom stopped in his tracks. "What did you say?" he said, his voice ice cold.

"I said... The Fantastic Four are not dead."

Doom slowly turned around. Though his face was obscured by his metal mask, it was obvious he was seething with anger. "You lie!"

Lex shook his head. "No, Victor. They're not dead," he said, solemnly. "Though I have a feeling they wish they were."

.

 **PRESENT DAY. THE S.H.I.E.L.D. HELICARRIER CONFERENCE ROOM.**

Lex Luthor sat on one side of a long table. The armored plating had been removed from his forearm, and Wonder Woman's golden lariat was wrapped snugly around his bare arm. Six heroes stood across from Lex on the other side of the table, stunned by everything they had just heard Lex describe about the events of the last three years, compelled by the lariat to tell nothing but the truth. Superman stood with his arms folded, disgusted by the admission that Lex had orchestrated so much of the legal banning of the Justice League just to gain an opportunity to steal his blood and try to clone him. Batman stood scowling in the corner, frustrated by the knowledge that Ra's Al Ghul was really still alive. Spider-Man paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, shaking his head. Wonder Woman was stoic and poised, having endured the hardship of listening to many men reveal unpleasant truths at the will of the golden lasso before. Tony Stark sat with his face buried in his hands at hearing the admission of what Lex had done to the Fantastic Four. Doctor Strange's thoughts were elsewhere, considering the possible ramifications of attempting to assemble the Infinity Gems.

"So…" Tony Stark asked, slowly sitting up in his chair and rubbing his forehead. "Whose idea was it to put a tracking device in your suit?"

"It was Ra's Al Ghul's idea," Lex said. "He knew that with my compromised health I might be caught by the Justice League. He wanted a way to find me if I was captured."

"So he could do, what? Come in and rescue you?" Superman asked.

"Yes," Lex replied.

"You just told us that every member of your secret society was likely to turn on each other and kill each other eventually for these gems," Stephen Strange pointed out. "It seems odd that he would be willing to rescue you if you got caught."

Superman turned to Tony. "Are you sure you disabled the tracker?" he asked.

"Does the Pope shit in the woods?" Tony replied, annoyed. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Does Ra's Al Ghul have any other way to track your location?" Wonder Woman asked Lex.

"No," Lex replied.

"Have any other members of the secret society located Infinity Gems?"

"I don't know," Lex replied.

As the other heroes continued to barrage Lex with questions, Spider-Man was still pacing back and forth behind them with his hands clasped behind his back. He was seething with anger, shaking his head and muttering to himself. His stomach was in knots. He felt like he was going to explode.

Finally, Spider-Man marched back over to the table and leaned over it, getting his face within inches of Lex's face.

"How did Chloe Sullivan die?" he asked.

There was an audible gasp from the other heroes.

Superman put his hand on Spider-Man's shoulder.

"Pete…" he said quietly. "You found the answer to that question in those files at 33.1. We know what happened."

"We don't know all the details," Spider-Man said through clenched teeth. "And I want to hear it from him. While he has the lasso of truth on him, I want the full confession. So tell me, Lex Luthor. How did Chloe Sullivan die?"

Lex closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

.

 **FOUR YEARS AGO. A WAREHOUSE IN THE CHELSEA SHIPPING DISTRICT.**

Lex walked into the wide open, high-ceilinged warehouse already filled with frustration and anger. He'd nearly drained enough of Harry Osborn's blood to be able to recreate the Green Goblin formula, only to have Chloe Sullivan stumble upon his operation and ruin everything. Now Osborn was in the wind, and Lex was back to square one.

In a far corner of the warehouse the grossly disfigured Jason Macendale hunched over the battered and bloody Chloe Sullivan, beating the young blonde woman into submission.

"That's enough, Jason," Lex called out as he walked toward them, putting a stop to the beating.

Hobgoblin scowled at Lex. "But…"

"I said that's enough. I'll deal with Miss Sullivan."

Macendale reluctantly let go of Chloe's hair, and she slid to the floor.

Lex grabbed a wooden chair and spun it around backwards, then sat down straddling it, folding his arms across the back.

"Chloe, Chloe," he said, disapprovingly. "What are we going to do about this unfortunate situation?"

She did not answer him.

"You see, Clark doesn't know that I survived the destruction of his little Arctic fortress," Lex continued. "As far as he knows, I'm dead. And that's just fine with me. I'm content to lay low until I can figure out a way to finally beat him. And I was getting so close, too, Chloe… the Goblin formula was practically in my hands. But you had to go and help Harry Osborn escape. And now, if I let you go, you'll go running off and tell Clark where I am, and completely ruin everything."

Lex reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun.

"Lex," Chloe whispered, startled at the sight of the weapon.

"How'd you get involved with this, anyway, Chloe?" Lex asked. "How do you even know who the hell Harry Osborn is? And what are you doing in New York City?"

Chloe shook her head. She refused to answer his barrage of questions.

"And speaking of Clark, whenever you're in trouble, he's rarely far behind," Lex observed. "Is he involved in this too? What does he know? Does he know you're here? Did he send you?"

"Put the gun away, Lex," Chloe insisted.

He aimed the gun at her and cocked it. "I'm not playing around, Chloe. Start talking. Now. Give me a reason not to kill you."

"Lex this is insane!" Chloe snapped, trembling with a dizzying combination of anger and terror. "You can't do this to me!"

Lex stood up and violently kicked the chair over, thrusting the gun closer to Chloe's face. "You think this isn't serious, Chloe?! You think I won't do it?! Start talking, NOW! How did you get involved in this? What's your connection to Harry Osborn? Does Clark know you're here?"

She began to cry.

"ANSWER ME!" he screamed, his hand shaking.

"Lex, don't do this," she pleaded. There was a mixture of desperation and defiance behind her blue-green eyes. "You're not a killer. There's still a good person inside you somewhere, I know it."

He just stared at her over the barrel of the gun. His breath was long and slow, measured. He sighed.

"That may have been true, once, Chloe," Lex replied, a cold calm returning to his voice.

He pulled the trigger. The bang echoed loudly in his ears as the bullet ripped through Chloe's chest, painting a red splash across the wall behind her.

Chloe's lifeless body slumped forward onto the floor and lay there, completely still. Lex stood there for a long moment, feeling the cold metal of the gun in his hand, smelling the gunpowder burn smell that hung in the air.

.

 **PRESENT DAY. THE S.H.I.E.L.D. HELICARRIER CONFERENCE ROOM.**

Spider-Man let out a primal scream as he jumped over the table at Lex, grabbing him by the throat and dragging him to the floor. With one hand firmly clenched around Lex's windpipe, Spider-Man raised his other fist into the air, trembling, prepared to bash Lex's skull in.

"I'm going to kill you!" Spider-Man screamed, his voice cracking.

"Do it," Lex choked out. "Go ahead. I want you to."

Spider-Man froze, caught off guard by Lex's unexpected reaction. "What?"

"Darkseid has the anti-life equation and is coming to destroy the earth. Humanity is doomed to a violent and terrifying extinction," Lex said. "Even if we manage to gather the gems and defeat him, my body is slowly, painfully dying of radiation poisoning. If you were to kill me quickly now, it would be an act of mercy."

Spider-Man looked down at Lex's arm. The lasso of truth was still wrapped firmly around it. Lex truly felt that a swift death at the hands of Spider-Man would be something he would welcome.

Spider-Man screamed in frustration and slammed his fist into the wall instead of Lex's face, leaving a huge dent in the metal wall. Then he stood up and stormed out of the room, leaving Lex in a confused heap on the floor.

Superman toward Tony and pointed to Lex. "Get him back to his cell." Then he super-sped out of the room after Spider-Man.

He found his friend in the hallway just outside the conference room, shaking with anguish. Spider-Man ripped his mask off as if he was suffocating from it. Superman was a bit surprised to see that Peter's right eye was swollen and black and blue, a result of Peter's scuffle with Batman earlier that day that he'd nearly forgotten about with everything else that had happened since.

"How are we supposed to work with that monster?!" Peter yelled. "Lex Luthor killed our friend, in cold blood, and we're supposed to trust him now?! We're supposed to fucking team up with him?!"

Superman put his hands on Peter's shoulders.

"When this is over…" Superman said in a calm, reserved voice. "…I will personally build Lex's next prison. But right now, the fate of the world is at stake. We need his help to find these Infinity Gems. He knows more about all this than we do. It doesn't mean we trust him. It just means we keep pushing forward, keep fighting, keep hanging in there a little longer, finish this mission, and then we can finally get justice for Chloe. And we will."

A tear ran down Peter's cheek. He felt like his legs were going to collapse right out from under him. He fell forward, and the two old friends hugged each other.

"I don't know if I can do this, buddy," Peter said. "I don't know if I have it in me."

Superman had no words of comfort for his friend. He just closed his eyes and let him cry.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Nellie Bly woke up and found herself strapped down to the operating table in the middle of the sterile white room. How had this happened? When had she fallen asleep, and for how long? She pulled against her restraints in vain.

"Heh. Trying to figure out when we strapped you down?" a voice asked.

She looked to her right and saw Norman Osborn and Miles Warren just a few feet away from her, fiddling with some medical equipment.

"We pumped some sleeping gas into the room a couple of hours ago," Osborn continued. "Once you passed out we were able to lift you onto the table and restrain you."

"Let me go!" Nellie yelled.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen, my dear," Norman said with a shrug. "Doctor Warren, do you have the IV ready to go?"

"Of course, Mister Osborn," Warren replied. He wheeled a cart with an IV drip attached to it over to Nellie.

"What the hell is that for?" she snapped. "What are you going to do to me?"

"You see, Lex cloned me for pretty much the same reason he did everything that he did the past few years," Norman explained. "He thought that the Green Goblin formula in my blood might be the answer to curing his radiation poisoning. And, while the Goblin formula does come with something of an enhanced healing factor, it… well…" He gestured at his face, which was wrought with premature wrinkles, and his hair, which had patches of gray, indicating that he was aging at a rapid rate much like Nellie was. "I'm not immune to the perils of the defects of the cloning process that come with using DNA from a deceased individual. And since you and I are in the same boat in that regard, you're going to be a guinea pig, to see if we can reverse those defects."

"Great," Nellie said through clenched teeth. "Heal me up, then get me off this table so I can rip your god damn throat out."

Norman threw his head back and laughed. "I don't think so, my darling." He held up a handgun. It was the same gun Nellie had threatened Dr. Warren with earlier. When they knocked her out with the sleeping gas and restrained her, Norman must have taken it. "We plan to learn everything that we can from you, and then, whether the healing process works or not, we'll be killing you. You were brought into this world as a laboratory experiment. You'll leave it as a laboratory experiment."

Dr. Warren jammed the needle of the IV into a vein in Nellie's right arm, then crudely secured it with a piece of packaging tape. He hung a clear bag full of what looked like blood to the IV rack, then opened up the drip. Behind Dr. Warren was a case that said "Essex Corporation" on the side.

"This blood sample is from a mutant with a rather remarkable healing ability," Dr. Warren explained. "His DNA, combined with the Goblin formula, may be a two-part solution that finally achieves the results that we've failed to see so far."

"Don't forget the coagulant, Doctor," Norman said. "It helps with absorption of the Goblin formula."

"Ah, of course," Warren replied. He took out a vial of a clear liquid, and began to try to pour it into Miss Bly's mouth. She clamped her mouth shut and turned her face away from him. "Come now, make this easy on yourself, Miss Sullivan."

"I told you, don't call me Miss Su—" she shouted. As soon as her mouth was open, Dr. Warren shoved the narrow end of a small funnel into her mouth. With Norman holding Nellie's head still between his hands, Dr. Warren poured the coagulant into her mouth via the funnel. She thrashed and struggled, and abruptly began to cough and choke.

"I believe she aspirated some of it," Warren observed, removing the funnel.

"Is that a problem?" Osborn asked.

"In terms of the experiment, no," Dr. Warren said. "I'm sure it's quite painful for her."

"I don't give a shit about that," Osborn laughed. "Like I said, Dr. Warren. She's a guinea pig. Don't think of her as human."

Nellie continued to cough and gag, trying desperately to sit up and clear her airway, but she was unable to do so because of the restraints. Norman Osborn and Miles Warren left the room without another word, leaving her coughing and sputtering as the blood of the unknown mutant slowly dripped into her veins. The door sealed shut, locking behind them. Dr. Warren pressed a button, and the two men watched silently through the observation window as a familiar green gas began to slowly fill the operating room.

.

THE WATCHTOWER SATELLITE. OUTER SPACE.

The unconscious forms of Reed Richards, Susan Storm-Richards, Johnny Storm, and Benjamin Grimm were in the med bay of the Watchtower. Dr. Hank McCoy, known affectionally to his teammates as the Beast, wore a white lab coat and paced solemnly back and forth, speaking into a digital voice recorder.

"After thorough examination of the four patients, my prognosis at this time is rather grim," Hank said into the recorder. "My instruments are detecting no cerebral activity, and almost no higher brain functions whatsoever. The brain stem seems to have taken over all bodily functions, indicating that the former Fantastic Four are acting on a primitive, primal instinct rather than having the conscious thought that is normally seen in sentient beings. Earlier today, Charles Xavier performed a deep brain scan of the four using Cerebro. He was unable to find any trace of the individuals that we once knew. It's as if their minds have been erased, and returned to an extremely base state. At this time I am starting to think that the process may be irreversible. I sincerely hope that I am incorrect in this statement. I have not given up all hope just yet. Dr. Bruce Banner is on his way to examine the patients as well. Given his vast experience with altered states of personality, he may have another angle to pursue that is not obvious to me at this time."

Hank switched off the recorder. He sighed. It pained him to see his friends reduced to such an abhorrent state, and to have no ideas on how to help them.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. He took a few cautious steps toward Reed Richards, then leaned in closely over Reed's body.

He switched the recorder back on.

"Additional note," he said. "I am noticing, on the back of Reed Richards' neck… there appears to be a subcutaneous mass that I did not pay regard to before. I initially thought it to just be a loose fold of his skin, due to the elastic nature of his epidermis. However, upon closer examination…" Hank leaned in even closer. He touched the lump that he saw on Reed's neck. It seemed to react to his touch, quivering and shaking for a few moments. "Yes, there seems to be a subdermal mass of some kind, and it seems to be reactive to stimuli. This warrants closer observation."

Hank retrieved a scalpel from his tray of surgical instruments.

With the recorder in one hand and the scalpel in the other, he leaned in very close. He made one careful, cautious, gentle incision in the mass on Reed Richards' neck.

A swarm of violent, angry, hostile locust-like insects burst forth from the incision and attacked Hank. He screamed, dropping his recorder and throwing his hands over his face. It did no good. The insects invaded his eyes, his ears, his nostrils, any entryway they could find into his face. He ran from the med bay, swatting and screaming as the bugs burrowed their way into his skin.

The was a BOOM in the middle of the Watchtower, shaking the whole satellite and nearly shifting it out of its orbital path. A Boom Tube appeared in the center of the monitor room, and, just as casually as if he were stepping from one room to the next, Darkseid stepped through the Boom Tube and into the Watchtower. He smiled with quiet delight as he watched Hank McCoy trying to ward off the invading bugs.

"Don't fight it," Darkseid mused. "It's a losing battle, Doctor McCoy. The anti-life equation cannot be overcome."

Hank fell to his knees. His bottom lip was quivering. His eyes rolled back in his head. His right arm twitched and spasmed like he was having a seizure. Then, at length, he finally grew very still.

"Now," Darkseid said. "I want you to show me where they are. Show me where all of the heroes are."

Hank slowly rose to his feet. Silently, like a creature out of an old horror movie, he lurched his way across the Watchtower, making his way toward the huge console of monitors. His feet shuffled audibly and he groaned mindlessly as he approached the controls. Then, as if acting purely on muscle memory, he typed a series of commands on the central keyboard.

A map of the world appeared on the largest monitor. Little points of light appeared all across the world, indicating where each member of the Justice League currently was, as based on the geo-specific tracking location embedded in their armband. There were dozens of them. Oliver Queen in Star City. Ghost Rider in Houston, Texas. Captain America in Washington, D.C. Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen. Most of the X-Men were currently at the Xavier School in Upstate New York. There was a cluster of heroes – Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Batman, and Wonder Woman – all aboard a Helicarrier over the Atlantic Ocean. He could even see a few dots that were off to the side of the map, indicating that the heroes were currently off-world, including Thor, J'onn J'onnz, and Carol Danvers.

And then there was a blip approaching the Watchtower satellite.

"Hmmm…" Darkseid stroked his chin as he identified who exactly was approaching the satellite. "Yes. He will do very nicely."

A few moments later, a Javelin docked in the bay of the Watchtower. Once the giant bay doors had safely sealed themselves shut, a huge, muscular green man wearing jeans and a white tank-top disembarked. It was the Incredible Hulk. Ever since J'onn J'onnz had performed a mental miracle during the team's battle with the criminals that escaped the N-Zone Prison, Bruce Banner's personality had been firmly in the driver's seat of the green behemoth's body.

"Hank?" Hulk called out as he walked out of the landing bay and into the Watchtower proper. "Sorry I took so long getting up here. I'm still getting used to working those Javelin controls with these big hands. Half the time I feel like I'm going to break something just trying to steer the thing. Any progress with the FF?"

The Hulk stopped in his tracks. Hank McCoy, looking like a zombie, lumbered his way forward with his head tilted listlessly to one side. Darkseid stood behind him, smiling an ungodly smile.

"Doctor Banner, I presume?" Darkseid grinned.

Hank McCoy opened his mouth. A swarm of locusts flew out, barreling directly at the Hulk.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

 **THE S.H.I.E.L.D. HELICARRIER, SOMEWHERE OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.**

Superman and Spider-Man stood on the bridge of the Helicarrier. Superman paced slowly and stoically, his hands clasped behind his back. Spider-Man leaned over a railing, arms folded, staring out a large window at the vastness of the ocean before them. Neither said a word, both lost in thought.

Dr. Stephen Strange approached them.

"Gentlemen," Strange said. "May I have a word?"

Spider-Man looked up. "Something troubling you, Stephen?" he asked.

"The Infinity Gems," Dr. Strange stated, putting his fingers thoughtfully up to his lips. "If we are seriously considering an attempt to acquire them, there is something we should discuss."

Before he could finish his thought, one of the SHIELD agents stationed aboard the Helicarrier came running onto the bridge.

"Superman! We may have a problem!" he yelled.

"What is it?" Superman asked.

"There's a Javelin ship coming in from the Watchtower and it's not responding to radio contact," the agent said quickly.

"Is it possible that its radio is just damaged?" Superman asked. "Who was last aboard the Watchtower?"

"Two JLA members, sir," the agent replied. "Hank McCoy… and Bruce Banner."

Superman, Spider-Man, and Dr. Strange all exchanged concerned looks. Although Dr. Banner had been in control of the Hulk for an extended period of time now, there was always an unspoken sense of unease that his more savage persona would eventually re-emerge. Could something have gone wrong aboard the Javelin?

The agent motioned for the heroes to follow him as he began hurrying back towards his monitoring station, where he had the Javelin pulled up on a radar tracking screen.

"There's more, sir," the agent continued. "The Javelin is coming in really fast, and it's heading for Metropolis."

Superman became even more concerned.

The agent typed something on the keyboard and some updated coordinates appeared on the screen.

"In fact," the agent continued, "if it continues on its current trajectory it's headed straight for the Daily Pla-"

There was a woosh of air as Superman super-sped out of the room, sending loose papers flying off nearby workstations. He didn't need to hear the rest of the sentence. He was already on his way.

.

 **METROPOLIS.**

A pedestrian on the street looked up, shielding his eyes from the midday sun.

"Look," he said, tapping a passerby on the shoulder. "Up in the sky. Is that a bird?"

The passerby looked up to see what the other man was talking about. "Is it a plane?" he asked.

Another man looked up as well. "I think it's one of those special jet planes the Justice League uses," he said. "But why is it coming in so fast?"

By now other people on the street had started to notice as well. The Javelin coming in so low and so fast was starting to cause a stir, which broke out into downright commotion. People started scattering in a panic, trying to clear the streets. The Javelin was barreling down on the Daily Planet building, and at its current rate was likely to hit the building head-on in a matter of moments.

There was an abrupt sonic boom and a red and blue streak across the sky, and then Superman appeared in mid-air directly between the Javelin and the Daily Planet, his arms outstretched in front of him. He braced himself.

The Javelin slammed into Superman. He took the full impact and tensed every muscle in his body, significantly slowing but not completely stopping the plane's descent. The Javelin continued hurtling toward the Daily Planet with Superman firmly affixed to the nose of the plane. He pushed back with all his might, slowing the plane down more and more.

Finally Superman was able to slow the Javelin down so much that it was just barely continuing forward on leftover momentum. He stopped the plane in its tracks with his back just inches from the exterior wall of the Planet, his cape billowing behind him enough to flap against a window.

Still suspending the plane in midair with his hands firmly clamped down on the nose of the Javelin, Superman used his x-ray vision to search the cockpit for any signs of life. He gasped at the sight of an enraged Incredible Hulk barreling toward him.

The Hulk crashed through the hull of the plane with a mighty roar and came out swinging, punching Superman clear through the window behind him and into the Daily Planet newsroom.

"No!" Superman cried out as he watched the Javelin plummet downward out of view, just as the Hulk landed on top of him and began smashing him in the face.

On the streets below, the citizens of Metropolis screamed and ran for cover as the huge Javelin space plane came tumbling down straight toward them. Suddenly, a bright green aura surrounded the plane, and its descent immediately stopped.

"Don't worry, Kal. I've got it," a voice called out from somewhere up above.

The plane started coming down much more slowly and gently now, being gingerly guided down to a careful landing spot. The figure of Green Lantern descended behind it. The green light was coming from his ring. "This is what I hate about coming to Metropolis," he quipped, looking for somewhere to set the Javelin. "You can never find a place to park."

Inside the Daily Planet newsroom, the Hulk was pounding Superman over and over again with his massive fists. Reporters were scrambling for cover.

Perry White burst out of his office. "Great Caesar's Ghost!" he cried out, grabbing his chest and nearly falling over from shock at the sight.

As everyone else was running away from the fight, two Daily Planet staff members were heading toward it. "Olsen!" Lois Lane hissed at the cub-reporter-slash-photographer as she crawled along a row of desks, trying to keep out of sight. "Where the hell is your camera?"

James Bartholomew Olsen was frantically rummaging through a desk drawer. "I'm getting it, I'm getting it!" he whisper-yelled, trying not to attract the monster's attention.

The Hulk slammed his fist into Superman's face over and over again like a piston, the monster growing more and more outraged at the fact that Superman's head wasn't popping like a balloon. The force of the repeated blows were sending huge cracks spider-webbing their way across the Daily Planet newsroom floor. Superman's hands shot up and grabbed the Hulk's massive fist just before it connected with his face yet again. Superman gritted his teeth and stared up at the Hulk's face, which was contorted with bestial rage.

"Doctor Banner," Superman winced through his clenched teeth. "Are you in there? Can you hear me?"

He looked into the Hulk's eyes for any sign of intelligence. The monster's eyes were glassy, unfocused. He was in a state of insane fury, with no reasoning or rationale. The humanity of Bruce Banner was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Lois had crawled her way surreptitiously over to Jimmy's desk. As Jimmy continued tearing through the desk drawers, Lois peeked her head up and looked on top of the desk. There, sitting in plain sight, was the camera. She picked it up and handed it to him, clearly annoyed.

"Do I have to point and shoot for you too, Olsen?" she grimaced.

"Sorry, Miss Lane," he stammered, nearly dropping the camera as she handed it to him. He popped the lens cap off and brought the viewfinder of the camera to his eye.

He carefully focused the lens, framing the picture just right. Superman, on the ground, pinned down by the Hulk, their faces just inches apart. Superman was holding the Hulk's fist with both of his hands, and it looked like he was straining to do so. Jimmy focused the lens just a bit more, capturing the saliva trickling down the Hulk's chin as the creature practically foamed at the mouth with inhuman rage.

There was a snap and a flash as Jimmy clicked the button and took the picture.

The Hulk's head instantly turned toward Jimmy. The monster snarled like a rabid dog.

"Oh my God," Jimmy gasped. He started backing away slowly.

The Hulk roared and lept off of Superman, charging towards Jimmy Olsen.

"No!" Lois dove between Jimmy and the Hulk, throwing her arms out wide and protecting him. Now the monster was charging straight at her.

There was a gust of wind through the newsroom, and then Superman was standing between the Hulk and Lois, holding a desk over his head like a shield. The Hulk smashed his fist straight through the desk, shattering it and sending pieces of it flying through the air.

"Tell Steve Lombard I owe him a new desk," Superman muttered over his shoulder. Then he dropped one half of the desk and smashed the other half right across the confused Hulk's face. "Now get out of here!" he yelled to Lois and Jimmy. They didn't wait to be told twice. They began sprinting toward the door.

Superman cast a quick glance back to make sure they were safe. The Hulk didn't hesitate. He grabbed Superman by the back of the head and slammed him face-first into the nearest wall. Then, with a fist full of Superman's hair, he pulled him back and then slammed him into the wall again, then again.

Suddenly, a giant, glowing, green set of handcuffs materialized out of thin air. One clasp latched onto the Hulk's right hand and yanked it roughly behind his back. Confused, the Hulk released Superman, and tried to turn to see what had pulled his hand back. Then the other clasp of the handcuff jumped at the Hulk's left hand like a shark snapping at its prey. It snared the other hand, locking both of the beast's hands behind its back.

"Rrr?" the monster grunted in confusion.

"You have the right to remain ugly," came Green Lantern's voice. "Your face can and will be used against you in a court of law, you big baboon."

The Hulk stared at Green Lantern, who was hovering just outside the gaping hole in the wall from when the Hulk and Superman had crashed through the building in the first place. GL was pointing his ring right at the Hulk, with a glowing green aura around it.

The Hulk lowered his head and flared his nostrils. He stomped his feet. With his hands still restrained behind him, the Hulk began to charge at Green Lantern.

"Oh… shit…"

The Hulk launched himself like a missile out of the hole in the side of the building and straight at Green Lantern. The monster's eyes were wide and wild, and his mouth was open as he roared at the top of his lungs. The sight was so startling that Green Lantern actually lost his concentration for a moment and the Hulk ripped his arms free of the holographic handcuffs. He swung his fist wildly and punched Green Lantern in the face so hard that he sent him flying backwards, straight through another building.

The Hulk came crashing down to the street below, landing on his feet in the middle of the road. He roared again, throwing his head back and shaking his fists at the sky. Civilians screamed and ran for their lives.

With one hand, the Hulk grabbed a nearby parked car and lifted it over his head. Like a child throwing a tantrum, he lobbed the car right at a crowd of panicked people.

Superman came flying out of the Daily Planet. He zoomed down to street-level and caught the car by the front bumper with both hands, then quickly brought it down and set it down on the street.

"This is Superman," he yelled toward his JLA armband. "I'm in Metropolis and the Hulk has gone berserk! I need backup NOW! Does anyone copy?!"

.

 **THE S.H.I.E.L.D. HELICARRIER.**

Spider-Man burst into the conference room with such force that the door almost came off its hinges. He pointed accusingly at Batman.

"You!" he yelled.

Spider-Man marched up to Batman and got right in his face.

"You say you have contingency plans for every member of the Justice League," Spider-Man said, his voice shaky. "You have one for the freaking Hulk?" The way he said it sounded like a challenge.

There was a very long beat as Batman just stared at Spider-Man. No one spoke to him this way. If it had been anyone else, if it had been any other circumstance, Batman would have laid him out on the floor but good. There was no time for that now.

Finally, Batman reached down to his utility belt. He lifted a flap on one of the compartments and took out a small, clear vial with a green liquid inside.

"It's a specialized tranquilizer. Targets the amygdala. It'll suppress his rage long enough to trigger the transformation back to Bruce Banner," Batman explained. Then, he opened another compartment on his belt and took out an injector gun. He snapped the vial into the back of the gun. "This injector has an adamantium-tipped needle. It will penetrate even the Hulk's skin."

Spider-Man snatched the injector out of Batman's hand.

"You'd better be right," Spider-Man said, giving Batman a shove.

Batman grabbed Spider-Man by the arm and pulled him back.

"I'm right," Batman snarled.

Spider-Man shook off Batman's grip. He took off running out of the room and began sprinting for the stairs that led to the flight deck where the Javelin was waiting.

.

 **A WAREHOUSE IN METROPOLIS.**

Carl Creel slowly regained consciousness. The room around him was dark, and he was disoriented. He had the pins-and-needles feeling of his limbs regaining sensation after being numb. The last thing he remembered was a fight with Superman. Superman had used his freeze breath on him… How long had he spent in a block of ice?

Before he had time to think about it any longer, he felt a sharp, sudden pain in the side of his neck. He yelled. Someone had just injected him with something.

"Rise and shine, Mister Creel. Sorry we had to keep you on ice for so long," came a voice from somewhere in the room.

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing to me?"

"I'll explain later," the voice said. "We don't have time right now."

Creel blinked his eyes a few times. Things were starting to come into focus. The room wasn't actually dark. His senses just needed time to adjust after having spent an extended time in the ice. He could hear a TV broadcast from somewhere in the room and he turned toward it. Although it was hazy at first, he was eventually able to make out news footage of Superman fighting the Hulk on the streets of Metropolis.

Now that his vision had cleared, he turned back around and saw who else was in the room with him.

Five of the people in the room he recognized immediately: Winslow Schott, Selina Kyle, Seth Nelson, Garfield Lynns, and Flint Marko, his compatriots in the recently-formed Sinister Six. Flanking them on either side were several other individuals with dubious reputations. John Corben, a.k.a Metallo. The mutant marauder known as Sabretooth. John "Pyro" Allerdyce. Captain Cold. And the "merc with a mouth," Deadpool.

Standing in front of all of them, with his arms folded across his chest, was Nick Fury.

"Welcome to the Suicide Squad, Mister Creel," Fury said. "It's time for your first mission."


End file.
